


The Crystal Timeline

by Dorktapus42



Series: The Crystal Timeline-verse [1]
Category: Marvel (MCU), Thomas Sanders, Undertale (Video Game), Youtubers (Jacksepticeye and Markiplier Egos)
Genre: A lot of this is prewritten so I'll update the tags long before it's, Basically shitposting intermixed with crippling angst, Character building, ENJOY!!!, Family, Feel free to comment and ask questions!, Have a Good Day, Holy Crap people actually like this?!, Hope you enjoy, I guess anyway., I have a lot written out for this, I hope you like it, I'm not sorry either, LGBT+ Characters, Lots of crossovers and references, More tags to be added, Multi, Pacifist Route, SO MANY UNIVERSES UGGGGGG..., Sans has a lot of stuff going on, So does Chara, So much magic oh my gosh...., Winged!Virgil Inspired, anxiety stuff, feel free to comment on it if you like, i hope you enjoy, in a good way, sorry these chapters are so short, this is my first fanfic, this'll be fun, uploaded so you get a bit of a sneak peak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-04-16 21:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 88
Words: 155,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14174127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dorktapus42/pseuds/Dorktapus42
Summary: A Lab Experiment gone wrong.Characters forgotten and dismantled through time.Timelines cluttering into a pile as one lost soul tries to find a happy ending.This is the tale of one Timeline- A Crystal Timeline.(I suck at summaries. Just know that this will be a pacifist route, with a lot of worldbuilding, crossovers, and OCs.)For Future Reference:Arc #1: The Underground- Ch. 1-14 --- COMPLETEArc #2: Ashen Bones- Ch 15-19--- COMPLETEArc #3: The Golden Brick Road- Ch 20-30--- COMPLETEArc #4- Mute, Magic, and Very Dramatic- Ch 31- 41--- COMPLETEArc #5- What an Ego...-Ch 42- 49--- COMPLETEArc #6- Imitation Games- Ch 50- 58--- COMPLETEArc #7- Mirror Image- Ch 59- 70--- COMPLETEArc #8- Wait For It- Ch 71- 84--- COMPLETEArc #9- Finale- 84- END---DONE!(I hope you enjoy- I debated arcs at all yet it fit so nicely.)***This is a huge conglomeration of characters and universes. They all belong to their respective owners. This is made purely for entertainment purposes. Sorry if you don't like it.***





	1. Grillby Gets Blackmailed

The faint ringing of a bell was heard over the din of Grillby’s, signaling the arrival of Alphys. Sans and Grillby looked over from the bar in curiosity as the Royal Scientist collapsed into a barstool, ignoring the faint noise of the whoopee cushion underneath her. She signaled something to Grillby, and buried her head in her hands. An echo-flower tea was placed by her head, and she dejectedly took a sip, sighing softly and retreating into her folded arms. Sans raised a brow, eyes sympathetic.

“heya alph. what's grillin’ ya?”

Grillby put a hand on her shoulder from across the bar, a silent gesture of warmth. She groaned, and wouldn’t give an answer for the next few sips of her KINDNESS echo-flower tea. Grillby did a few hand signs in Sans’s direction.

‘I gave her a motivation mix. Royal Guard Edition.’

Sans snickered halfheartedly. A tea with Undyne yelling motivational quotes was the perfect thing for Alphys.

“what, ya special order it for her?” He took a sip of his ketchup.

‘... No. Been making it since the early Guard days for the trainees. Have to change it for every Captain.’

“huh. you have a version from your days?”

‘...Maybe somewhere.’

Alphys was still looking dejected, but seemed to be better after a few bouts of “Stay Determined ya PUNK!” from her cup of tea. She shifted in her seat, and looked at the two of them.

“S-sorry a-about that g-guys.”

Sans shrugged. “snow problem al. we all have those kind of days. shoot, i’ve had a glass of bravery mix. someone saying ‘leap off the pan into the fire!’ really gets to ya. heh.”

Alphys sputtered a laugh. Grillby nodded, completely serious.

‘...We have that too.’ Alphys sighed.

“T-thanks for t-the off-offer Grillby, b-but I-I’m f-foolhardy e-enough.”

“ya sure? i’ll pay for it.”

Grillby leveled a heavy glance in his direction. He took out a thick roll of receipt paper from a worn drawer by the cash register. He let it unfurl. It disappeared behind the bar, the faint sound of rustling paper distinctly heard as it plummeted to the floor and pooled in a stack at Grillby’s polished shoes. Sans shrugged.

“i’ll pay it eventually grillbz.”

The bartender looked less than impressed by his response. He rolled up the long receipt with the air of a professional, and clipped it with a paperclip, putting it back in the drawer and closing it softly in one swift motion.

Sans looked bored, as if this was an everyday occurrence. Alphys had finished more of her tea, brows raised in the skeleton’s direction. He shrugged again, taking another swig of his ketchup.

“so what’s up alph?”

She clicked her claws together nervously.

“W-well, it’s a n-new p-project I’m w-working o-on in the Lab.”

Sans looked wary. “go on.”

She sighed and pushed up her glasses. “W-well, I’m trying to see i-if I c-can c-create an a-artificial human s-soul as t-the last o-one to break t-the Barrier. It’s purely experimental s-science at this point, b-but I n-need some m-magical energy as a stable b-base for this next e-experiment.” She looked awkward. “A-and I c-can’t find any v-volunteers.”

“huh.” Sans sipped his ketchup. “can you give me some algorithms? see if I can think of any alternatives?” He looked thoughtful as she rattled off some complex-sounding equations and factors. He took out a small notepad from his endless pocket and started to scribble.

“huh.” He said absentmindedly.

Grillby looked towards the door as the chime of the bell sounded again.

 _“PAPYRUS!”_ The regulars cheered at the sight of the tall skeleton. He looked surprised.

“WHY HELLO RESIDENTS OF GRILLBY’S! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IN APPRECIATIVE OF YOUR FAVOR! NYEH HEH HEH!” He sat down at the stool next to Sans. “WHY HELLO DOCTOR ALPHYS! IT’S NICE TO SEE YOU!”

You all heard a bang as the door was kicked open as it swung closed behind Papyrus. “Hiya PUNKS!” Grillby leveled a glare in her direction, eyes boring into his former guardswoman in training. “Sorry man-uh, Sir!…Hey, at least it’s not broken this time!” She grinned, and strode over to plop down at the empty stool next to Papyrus. She ignored the next faint sound of another whoopie cushion. Heh. Comedy.

“Whatcha punks talkin’ about?” Sans, Alphys, and Grillby looked at her. “What?!”

“wow, rude. hasn’t anyone told you to not intrude on a cod-versation?” He sipped at his ketchup, trying to liven the boring atmosphere.

Grillby tilted his hand back and forth in an ‘okay’ motion.

Sans shrugged. “can’t all be winners.” The bartender got a glass of milk and a massive glass of water for his customers.

 “S-so you’ve come b-back from t-training?”

“Yeah! Paps is getting SUPER good at his attacks! Still needs a little bit of work, but I think he could totally get into the Royal Guard!”

“AWWW, UNDYNE!” Papyrus blushed a little orange at the praise. He had a gulp of milk. “SO YOU GUYS ARE DOING SOME SCIENCE?”

“yeah bro.”

“GOOD FOR YOU BROTHER! YOU HAVEN’T DONE ANY SCIENCE OTHER THAN YOUR TRASH TORNADO IN AGES.”

Sans shrugged. “eh, busy.” It had taken Sans ages to make Papyrus accept that as a form of science. However, three posters and two long rants later...

Papyrus looked less than impressed. “OK THEN I GUESS.” He put a few G on the bar counter for both himself and his mentor. “THANK YOU SIR GRILLBY FOR THE MILK.” He waved at his brother and Alphys. “IT’S NICE TO SEE YOU ALPHYS. SANS, SEE YOU AT HOME TONIGHT.” He and Undyne left the bar, followed by Doggo, who needed a Dog Treat break. Greater Dog could be seen sneaking a peek at Doggo’s hand. Sans and Alphys looked at their beverages in silence, thinking about the project, among with other things. Sans went back to writing.

“worst case, i guess i can donate some if you really need it. ya know, as a favor.” From three timelines ago.

And so he could keep her from feeling guilty if it didn’t work out.

Alphys looked surprised. “R-really? T-thank you!”

Sans shrugged. “might as well do something with my life, other than break the record for most money owed to a local establishment. not my best argument, but you know how it is.” Alphys snorted.

“I-I guess I j-just need to find o-one more v-volunteer.” Sans looked towards Grillby. He got a spark of mischief in his smile, which only really happened if he was thinking of a joke. He turned to the bartender, who was giving him the most ‘don’t you dare’ face that it almost made Alphys laugh out loud from the cloud of pity surrounding her brain and clouding her thoughts.

“S-Sans, d-don’t blackmail h-him…” She managed to say, trying to save her friend.

Sans smirked. “i dunno alph. i have the best thing to offer.” Grillby stared at him. “i’ll pay half of my tab.” The Fire-Elemental looked towards the scientist, weighing his options.

‘...Will it help Monsterkind?’ The former Captain was honorable, as always.

“Y-yes, but-“

The bartender looked towards the skeleton, thinking. ‘...Pay. Now.’ The skeleton winked, then teleported away. The two of them sat/stood there in silence for a few seconds, then heard the clinking of coins on the bar as Sans reappeared, dropping a large pile of G on the countertop. Grillby kept his eyes locked on Sans’s as he swept the gold into his register and opened the drawer. The roll was produced, the clip undone, and the paper unrolled and torn in half. The remainder was then rerolled and clipped, being placed back into the drawer. He walked over to the trash can, and put the other half inside the bin. He walked back. ‘Viola.’ Sans clapped, then turned towards his companion, looking over the notebook in his hands.

“when will we do this?” Might as well do this before Frisk came back.

Alphys picked at her claws. “S-Saturday?” Sans and Grillby looked at each other, thought for a minute, and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry if this chapter was a bit boring, but it’s a bit of a slow burn. It really gets somewhere by Chapter 3, so I will try to upload every week or two after the couple I posted to hold you over- and provide a hook- so hope you like how this beginning part starts! Thanks for reading!)


	2. Northern Lights

Grillby and Sans stood outside of the Lab door in Hotland. Sans knocked on the door. They waited a few seconds, then out came Alphys, ushering them inside.

  
“C-come in! Come in!”

  
They stepped over the threshold and walked through a long room. There were monitors and work tables lining one side, books, papers, and empty boxes and bowls of ramen cascading over the surfaces. Stacks were piled on the floor, leaving little room for a decent workspace. They passed the tables and went through a nondescript industrial door.

The hallways were dim, the bulbs in the lights above flickering. Grillby, fortunately, produced enough light so they could properly navigate the halls. Alphys took them into a large room. A machine had been assembled there- it was grey, large tubes protruding out of a slightly animal skull shaped core. It loomed over them, the lower jaw separated like a blaster’s, enough space for a human-sized monster to more or less fit inside. Sans could see that new additions had been made, bright wires contrasting starkly to the dark grey body, connecting it to another monitor. A glass jar for the soul was attached with more cables. There were a couple large pieces of leftover scrap metal heaped in one corner, evidently from the additions to the machine. Shadows loomed towards it, playing across the surface unnaturally; almost curling around it, observant. Alphys turned on some extra lights to properly see. The shadows disappeared. The scientist walked towards the monitor. It was modified to have a split screen, so she ran numerous diagnostics at once: the base levels of DETERMINATION and other properties, a magical view of the chamber for the soul- currently blank. Binary and base64 on another panel, a log displayed on the next.

Sans looked at the machine, walking around it as much as he could, appraising it with a critical eye. He could find no fault with it and looked at the monitors. He read the code, flipping the set process around in his head. This is new. He took a deep breath to ground himself.

  
“much as i can see, looks like it could work.” He had given her the notebook a few days before on his way to his Hotland post.

  
Alphys looked surprised, then nervous.

  
“A-are you sure? W-we can d-do th-this?”

  
“it looks good alph. don’t doubt yourself.”

  
“O-okay then.” She took a last look at the monitors, eyes narrowed in focus behind her glasses. She turned towards them. “Can you summon an attack or two with about 10 AT damage total? We need enough magic mass for it to be able to form at least a semi-stable soul.” Grillby conjured a fireball. Sans thought about it, then conjured a small skull about half of the size of a Gaster/Aster Blaster. Alphys took them, and put them into the area between the two parts of the lower jaw, along with a tiny vial about the size of a pinky finger full of DETERMINATION. She closed the doors of the jaw, and lowered the upper plate that consisted of what would be the muzzle to give it an infallible seal. She went to the monitor and pressed a series of buttons. Sans lit up his eye in case of an emergency. There was a sound similar to that of a laser, and the miniscule sound of the vial breaking.

  
There was a bright light discernable around the machine, causing them to squint. Sans brought over a sheet of metal to shield the three of them as Alphys hurried back. Please don’t break. Alphys thought as magic flowed into the container for the soul. It was glowing white, with a slightly shimmery field around it, as with all monster souls. Dang it. Not human. The glass started to crack as small waves of energy reverberated from the soul. It didn’t want to be in a container. Sans could sympathize, being caught in a time loop. The glass continued to crack, and after another wave of energy, it shattered.

Sans was glad he had the sheet of metal after all.

The metal barrier served as a shield between the glass and the monsters. After the thuds of shrapnel hit the scrap, they cautiously looked around the metal, wary of what would meet their eyes. Or who would dust them.  
There stood a figure. They were a fire elemental like Grillby, although much shorter, with flames the color of the sky. They wore a black hoodie, black leggings, and red converse. They peered at them through their black glasses, curious. They thrust out a thickly gloved hand, as not to burn them.

  
“Hi. I’m Borealis. Sorry about the glass.”

\----30 Minutes Earlier----------

Undyne lunged at the dummy, all fists. This was one of the days of the week she fought physically instead of magically, and she could tell the dummy had been abandoned by its former ghost host in fear.  
“Sorry buddy, but it’s better than being dusted by a human, eh?” She muttered as she threw a couple of jabs into the mix. She threw a side kick- and the sack-like material tore, creating a gaping maw in one side. Stuffing bulged out. She grasped the dummy by the head, sighing, and made to toss it to the large pile in the corner on the yard.

  
Suddenly, a furious red-tinted ghost flew into her face.

  
“That was my BODY you SACK of FISH FINGERS! What the hell?! First, you use my body as a punching bag, then you DESTROY it?!” You winced, dropping it. The ghost didn’t notice in its rampage. They kept complaining as you walked over to your general supply bag, grabbing the tape you used to patch them up. All hail Duct-tape. They continued to complain as you patched the massive seam. Jeeze. This ghost just kept complaining. They knew she always patched them up, sometimes even offering some form of compensation if she was in a good mood. They were dummies after all. They could go inhabit something else. They just chose her sparring partners in the time where Papyrus was doing his sentry duties.

  
The ghost stopped when they noticed the patch-up. They looked slightly madder if that was possible.

  
“So WHAT? Are ya gonna leave me to inhabit THAT thing? It took me AGES to find a suitable dummy! And Alphys was so fricking BUSY with Metts’ that she would never have gotten to get me a body! She is too busy turning him into a frickin’ STAR!” They continued to grumble as they went back into the dummy and floated away, the tape getting caught on a branch as they left, tearing most of it off. Undyne stood there in shock. Huh. Never could get good help in here. She tossed the tape back into her bag, and grabbed a towel. She decided to go visit Alphys. And screw it if she was wearing workout clothes. It just looked cool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (See? It’s a slow burn. Heh. Burn. Comedy! Hope you enjoyed the Undyne POV, and thanks for reading!)


	3. Singed Ziegenhaar

The Monsters stood there in silence. Sans regained his senses first, and thrust out his hand to shake the one offered. A loud farting noise pierced the air. A moment of silence, then…

  
“Ha!” She continued to laugh for a few seconds, then wiped her eyes, which were somehow leaking tears of laughter, making slight hissing noises. “Oh my god. That was brilliant.”

  
“heheh. the old whoopee-cushion-in-the-hand trick. never gets old.”

  
Grillby looked unruffled. ‘...Hello.’ He signed, slowly so she could understand, mouthing the words.

  
“Hi. Nice to meet you.” She thrust out her hand again. He took it. Alphys looked stunned.

  
“H-how t-the… W-what the….” She was a bit of a stuttering mess.

  
Borealis waved. “Hi.” Well this could have been more awkward.

  
Sans had removed the metal between them, and he looked amused.

  
“well this conversation sure is interesting.” He drawled.

  
Alphys was going to retort, when she was interrupted by the sound off a door breaking. They all turned towards the noise. Undyne stood there, workout clothes on, spears materializing. She gave a massive grin. “Heya guys. Who’s this punk?” Her grin grew. “Can I BEAT ‘EM UP?!” She charged towards Borealis.  
“Hello Scary Fish Lady.” She walked towards her, cau

sing Undyne to stop short. She thrust out her hand. “Nice to meet you! I’m Borealis.”

  
Undyne looked confused. “Hi?” Some of her spears disappeared. She looked at Alphys. “Who is this?” Sans answered for her.

  
“technically a science experiment, but they’re a monster created by alphys instead of a human soul. they have slightly more determination than the average monster, with about one gram’s worth as mostly glue, and some donated magical energy for a stable magic field.” He stopped before he ranted on the specifics.

  
“She if you don’t mind, and technically, however odd it is to say, that is true.” Borealis said, shrugging.

  
“sorry.”

  
“No prob bob.”

  
“my name is sans, bud, not bob.”

  
Borealis snickered. “Okay then. Nice humor Sans.”

  
Undyne looked impatient. “Enough with the small talk!-“

  
“hey! i know i’m short but-“

 

“Don’t we have to tell the King or SOMETHING?! Why are we sitting HERE?!”

  
“technically, we’re standing.”

  
“U-uh..”

  
‘...Priorities. Let us go to Asgore, and then decide from there.’ Grillby signed, cutting everyone off with his fantastic leadership abilities. Undyne remembered who she was talking to. She stood tall before the former Guard captain.

  
“Yes SIR!” She whirled around, stopped and thought for a second, then grabbed Alphys and Borealis, tucking them under both arms. She whirled around towards the door, and sprinted at high speeds out of the Lab.

  
Sans looked at Grillby, and offered an arm like a gentlemen would to his lady. “care for a ride?”

  
‘...You owe me the other half of your tab.’

  
They teleported away in a flash of blue light.

  
The shadows watched in curiosity.

 

 

-Later-

The two of them were standing outside the Palace door when Undyne came running up, Borealis and Alphys still tucked under her arms. Borealis waved. “Hey Guys.”

“how was the U.T.S.?”

“U.T.S.?”

“undyne transportation service.”

“Not bad. Unless you don’t like the feeling of going supersonic. Then it would suck.”

“huh. can’t say i like it, not gonna lie.”

“Well… that’s your loss bonehead!” Undyne was slightly out of breath. She set down the two under her arms. Alphys was blushing, like she did whenever she did anything with Undyne. How they hadn’t gotten together yet nobody knew. They were everyone’s ‘OTP’.

Sans opened the heavy-looking door with ease. “shall we see king fluffybuns?”

  
Borealis snickered. “King Fluffybuns? How’d he get that nickname?”

  
He wiggled his fingers dramatically. “he’s a king, and a goat. pretty straightforward.” He paused, then stepped inside.

  
They stepped over the threshold into a house. They bypassed the rooms on either side; heading straight down the stairs. They emerged in a throne room, filled with hundreds of hand-sized golden flowers. The king wasn’t in. They were going to head through the room when one of the flowers moved, a face appearing on the yellow surface.

  
“Hey Smiley Trashbag!”

  
Sans turned towards the flower, hands deep in his pockets.

  
“heya weed. how ya doin?” His eyelights were dark. This was normal. That was sad.

  
Grillby had summoned a fireball. He looked at it in surprise. Huh. He kept it out just in case. Borealis had conjured one too, eyes set upon the flower.

  
(Don’t trust him. Go on the offense.) A mysterious voice in her head urged her, voice insistent.

  
“What do you want.” She growled at the offending orchid. He looked at her in surprise.

  
“Golly, you seem to be in a bad mood. What, your hipster triple chocolate cinnamon with a bit of peppermint coffee order was wrong?” Stupid stereotypes based on appearances.

  
=Stall.=

  
“Don’t like coffee.” She still stood there, eyes locked on his.

  
“jeez kid-“ Sans said, eyes normal, looking relaxed. Grillby was still wary, but had dissipated the fireball.

  
(Throw it. It judges things.)

  
How?

  
(Magic.)

  
The blue fireball turned yellow, and immediately flew out of her hand towards the flower. He dodged, the tilted his petaled head.

  
“Rude much?”

  
She turned towards Sans. “Those apparently only attack those who are worthy.” She furrowed her brows, turning back towards the flower. “Dude what did you do? It’s hard to piss off a total stranger. They’re usually not easy to provoke, unless you get on their wrong side.” She sent a lopsided grin at the flower. “Oh wait, you did that without even talking.”

  
(I’m a fair and impartial judge! And yeah, that’s pretty sad Flowey.)

  
~No it’s not. It’s Flowey. He’s like that.~

  
^Guys, be nice!^

  
Hey strange voices in my head- sorry, but i’m a bit busy right now. Don’t mean to be rude, but…

  
^Yeah, no problem!^

  
~Yeah guys, shut up!~

  
There were a few grumbles. Sans looked at you in curiosity.

  
“what’re those-”

  
His question was knocked aside as Flowey got annoyed with the loss of attention.

  
“You IDIOTS! They’re just some silly little science experiment! They can’t understand Hope or Love or Compassion. They’re just gonna turn into a m u r d e r e r like me, just you wait. HAHAHAHAHA!” His face twisted into a demonic smile as he laughed and eyed Sans with a knowing look as well. He sent a complicated wave of pellets. Crap. That escalated quickly. She instinctively dove in front of the others. A fiery green shield was thrown up in front of them.  
When the fires dissipated, the flower was gone. Sans stared at Borealis.

“wait wait wait. hold your roll. what the flipsticks just happened?” Borealis thought frantically, and drew a blank.

  
Uh, guys, any help? You seem to be experts here.

  
-We’re the human SOULs Asgore is keeping. We died a long time ago.-

  
“They say they’re SOULs or something? Who’s Asgore?” You looked at Sans. He waved that question aside.

  
“king fluffybuns. so you’re fused with the souls somehow?” Hypothesis #1.

  
“Not really. It’s more like they can communicate with me and help me. It’s more of a collaborative thing.”

  
Sans looked confused. “not like if you were fused with the souls?” She shook her head, scratching behind her neck.

^No thank you. Not again.^

  
~Heck no!~

  
-That’d be rude.-

  
(And too OP.)

  
=No. That’s too weird. We’re just helpful humans that want to do something other than sit in glass jars.=

  
“No no no no no. It’s as if I have a couple of helping hands or something. Boosters? Something like that. They just help out a bit. I think.”

  
~Gee, thanks for the credit.~

  
“huh.” He looked lost in thought, looking for another theory. Grillby, Undyne, and Alphys looked between impressed, confused, and having no clue what just happened.

  
‘...What now? Is Asgore in?’ Of course he was the one with priorities.

  
“Well what have we here?” The King strode in, stopping short at the chaos he saw, slightly burnt flowers and all. He went for the standard procedure. “Care for a cup of tea?” An orange fireball narrowly missed his left shoulder. They all looked at Borealis. She threw up her hands in surrender, stepping away from the group.

  
“Blame the SOULS! Not me!”

  
~You people suck. He killed me!~

  
-No they don’t! Yeah, that wasn’t okay, but I’m sure there was a reason…-

^Stop fighting!^

  
=We gotta keep going!=

  
(This isn’t fair to anyone!)

  
*Everyone SHUDDUP! I wish I had chocolate…*

  
~Sorry Chara…~

  
Borealis sighed. “I’ll take you up on that tea if it’s still being offered.”

  
Asgore sighed as well. “It seems we have a lot to talk about. Follow me.”

  
He turned around and walked towards the barrier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW: Singed Ziegenhaar is German for Singed Goat Hair- and yet I'm not German  
> (This was originally two chapters, so it’s longer than these chapters will usually be. Hope you enjoyed, have a great day, and thank you for reading!)
> 
>  
> 
> (If you want to chat or something, I have a tumblr!   
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42   
> Visit if you like!)


	4. Geisterumarmung

They all sat at a long, low table. There were teacups of all shapes and sizes strewn over the surface, for every type of guest. You chose a stool and a cup with a water motif. It was filled with piping hot Golden Flower Tea. The voices in your head grumbled a bit as you sipped.

  
*I still want chocolate.*

  
~Shut it Chara. We all want something.~  
Someone was making all kinds of enemies.

  
*Oh, like what?*

  
-A book.-

  
*That’s lame.*

There were a couple of snickers at this. You sipped your tea, listening to the conversation in your head. Grillby noticed your silence while the others were talking. He gave you a curious glance.

  
“The souls are sometimes quite chatty.“

  
~Hey!~

  
(Well, it’s true.)

  
^Fair enough.^

  
=Shhh!=

  
There was a couple moments of silence, then:  
*Didn’t I ask for chocolate?!*

  
Arghh.

  
You were drawn out of your haze by the others asking you something. You looked up. “Yeah?“

  
“So what kind of things can you do?“ That was upfront. You didn’t like being put on the spot. You shifted on your stool nervously.

  
“Mostly fire stuff. It sometimes behaves like something a soul-themed attack would do- like a green shield or something, but sometimes it acts differently, like a yellow bullet only attacking if the person deserves it, or orange, being faster and more harmful but less accurate.“ You winced. “Sorry about that by the way.” He nodded in acknowledgment.

  
“Intriguing.“ He sipped his tea. “So what SOULS are you communicating with? Are you communicating with them all?“

  
“Unfortunately.“ You counted them off. “Perseverance, Patience, Justice, Kindness, Bravery, Integrity, and Determination.“

  
“Determination?“ Everyone said, confused.

  
“Yeah?“

  
Asgore was confused as well. “There is no Determination SOUL.“

  
“do they have a name?“

  
*I hate that stupid trashbag.*

  
^Chara! Be nice!^

  
“Chara.“

  
Asgore let out a loud, long sigh. The others sat there awkwardly, tea forgotten.

  
“What? Why is-“

  
*I was his adopted child when I was alive.* Their voice cracked slightly. You felt a wave of sadness.

  
“Oh.“

  
Undyne went to comfort the king. You felt something change as the constant feeling of Determination faded slightly. A red-tinted spirit hovered there, clothed in a green and yellow sweater with a golden locket glinting at their neck. Their reddish-brown eyes were deep with sadness, matching the hue of their hair. They hovered closer to the king and threw their arms around their father. Nobody else noticed their presence except Sans, who looked at them with dark eyelights. He seemed to remember something unpleasant. No, haunting. He took a deep breath, as to clear his head.  
She didn’t want to ask what he recalled.

After checking on Asgore, they were ushered out of there by Undyne. They were surprised to see Papyrus standing around outside the palace door. His eyes lit up at the sight of them. “HELLO SANS, SIR GRILLBY, ALPHYS....WHO IS THIS?“ Borealis waved at this taller skeleton, and he thrust out his gloved hand to the much shorter figure.“HELLO THERE! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!“ She shook it.

  
“Borealis. It‘s nice to meet you The Great Papyrus.“ Sans stifled a laugh. Papyrus’s smile faltered a little.

  
“NONSENSE! PAPYRUS WILL DO JUST AS WELL, ALTHOUGH I THANK YOU FOR YOUR RECOGNITION OF MY GREATNESS! IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU MISS BOREALIS!“ They walked towards Snowdin, through the long halls overlooking the city. Papyrus smiled as he turned to the four of you, smiling.“AND A NEW FRIEND LIKE YOU DESERVES THE MAGNIFICENCE OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS’S SPAGHETTI FOR DINNER!“ Alphys and Grillby looked at each other. Grillby patted him on the shoulder in appreciation.

  
‘...I am sorry my friend, but I must decline your generous offer. I have lost most of the crowd today as it is, and I wish to at least be able to serve this evening.‘

  
Alphys looked ashamed as well.“S-sorry P-Papyrus, but I h-have t-to run d-diagnostics on a f-few projects o-of mine. M-maybe s-some o-other time?“

  
Papyrus sighed.“I WOULD NOT LIKE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING YOU AWAY FROM THOSE ENJOYABLE ACTIVITIES. PERHAPS SOME OTHER TIME THEN.“ They parted ways and headed to the skeleton house.

 

\-----------------

Alphys walked back to her Lab. She smiled as she got out the next episode of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. Yeah. This was an experiment. Of just how many episodes one can watch before falling asleep. Yeah. For science. She grabbed a bowl of popcorn sprinkled with this weird spice blend Undyne had gotten her to love.

  
Yeah. For science.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW: Geisterumarmung means Ghost Hug in German again  
> (Yes, I do have my sappy moments. These are just in German for some reason. Have a good day, and thanks for reading!)


	5. Penne for your thoughts?

They tramped through the snow, Papyrus talking excitedly about how he made his pasta. Sans kept throwing in pasta related puns, slowly thinning out his brother’s patience.  
“AND THEN UNDYNE AND I STIR THE PASTA WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND ASGORES!-“  
“sounds im-pasta-ble bro.“ You snickered.  
“SANS! THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR JAPES AND JOKES! YOU ARE CORRUPTING THE GUEST!“  
“sorry bro.“ He winked at you. “penne for your thoughts?“  
“Ironically, winking.“ He looked confused.  
“why?“  
“You change the eye you wink at people.“  
He looked impressed. “not many people have noticed that.“  
“I seem to notice the most random of details.“  
“good quality in a person, specifically in science. it’s served me well.“  
“I guess.“  
“I PREFER ONE THAT LIKES PUZZLES AND PASTA.“  
^I like books!^  
-Me too!-  
(Video games are cool.)  
~Beating people up is AWESOME! Wait...~  
=I like jigsaw puzzles!=  
~Holy mushrooms! I’m like Undyne?!~  
*CHOCOLATE you FOOLS!*  
You shrugged. “I don’t know

what I like, other than bad puns and tea.“  
Papyrus turned to you, incredulous. “WE SHALL AMEND THAT!“ He turned to his brother. “SANS! GO AHEAD AND CLEAN THE HOUSE!“ Sans shrugged.  
“okay.“  
He kept walking. Papyrus turned towards the other skeleton.“SANS!“  
“yeah bro?“  
Papyrus sighed.“I THOUGHT I JUST TOLD YOU TO GO CLEAN THE HOUSE!“ He stomped his foot in the least angry way possible.  
“yeah.“  
“GO CLEAN IT UP!“  
“okay.“  
Sans kept walking. Papyrus sighed. This had gone on for long enough. He picked up his brother and ran off towards their house in the distance. You continued walking at your own steady pace. A familiar-looking green fire-elemental walked past you, looking slightly confused. She stopped, turned around, and walked back up to you. “Excuse me, but do you know where Grillby’s is? I need to help my Dad with the evening crowd.“ That explained why she looked familiar. She took a second glance at you. “Who are you?“ You shook her hand with a smile.  
“Borealis.“ You pointed down the snowy road in the direction you had come from. “I think Grillby’s is down there.“ She looked grateful.  
“Thank you! I don’t understand why he lives down here anyway. Hotland is so much nicer.“ She trudged on through the snow, shoulders hunched in the chill.  
You kept walking towards the house but stopped short as a tiny dog was thrown out of the window. They landed on their feet and ran in a few circles around you. You reached down to pet it. It jumped onto your head, seemingly not fazed at all by the heat. You straightened, shrugged, and went inside the house. Guess you had a new magic hat.  
Sans saw the dog. The dog saw Sans. The dog turned blue and flew out of the window, where it promptly ran into the snow poffs. You turned to Sans with a question on your face. He shrugged. “paps keeps throwing it out of the window. it annoys him, bites, and steals his attacks.“ Huh. That was a shame. It made quite a nice pet/hat. Papyrus hurried into the room as he heard the door close.  
“HELLO THERE! WOULD YOU LIKE TO TRY SOME OF MY FANTASTIC, FABULOUS SPAGHETTI?” He had a plate full of delicious looking noodles covered in what looked like a classic marinara sauce. You nodded, and sat at the table. He gave you a fork, and hovered there. Sans had gotten himself a plate and was chugging a bottle of ketchup at the other end of the table. You twirled the noodles between the tines of your fork, raised your utensil to your lips, chewed, and promptly swallowed the noodley goodness.  
Not bad. You gave your affirmation to Papyrus, who looked like he could squeal with delight.  
“maybe after dinner, we can try some other stuff.” He winked. “like chocolate.”  
*CHOCOLATE!!!*  
-He’s a mind reader.-  
^Heh.^  
You hastily finished the plate, and stood up, smoothing down your clothes. Before you could bring the dish to the sink, however, Papyrus took your plate from under your nose and started to wash up. You frowned. “I could have done that.” Papyrus shook his skull, attention focused on the plates stacked by the tall sink in the corner.  
“NONSENSE! YOU ARE A GUEST!” You couldn’t argue with that. You wandered over to the couch, where sans was sitting, gulping more ketchup.  
“Relishing that ketchup?” You mentally facepalmed as you realised what you had done. You could hear Papyrus screaming as he washed the plates. Sans raised his brows.  
“yep. nice to see you mustard up the courage to make a decent pun.”  
Two can play at that game.  
*Bring it on comedian.*  
“Thanks for the condiment.” You cringed. “Sorry. That was cheesy.”  
=Wow. That was worse than we thought.=  
*I still want chocolate. I need some to recover from that fail.*  
“not at all. actually, i’m impressed.” You flopped onto the couch. He continued to talk, counting off on his fingers as he spoke. You could hear Papyrus rustling through the pantry.  
“there are four and a half rules of a pun master. this is an abbreviated version. number one: accept that none of your puns will actually be good. good puns are so bad that they are good. secondly, say everything that comes to your head. the best ones i’ve heard have been spontaneous ones. three, laugh, or at least smile, at every pun you say. no real reason, except that laughter is infectious. four, know you are funny. you are humanity’s seldomly loved hero. four point five: if it makes papyrus scream, it’s good.” You snickered.  
“No prob bob.”  
“my name still isn’t bob.” he put out his hand in a mock handshake. “the name bob the skeleton doesn’t have the same ring to it, now does it?” The voices in your head snickered. You could faintly hear Papyrus humming in the kitchen as he bustled together some snacks. It was a very upbeat tune, and basically the tall skeleton personified. Sans noticed your confused expression.  
“it’s his battle tune.”  
“His what?”  
“it’s the music that plays whenever he trains with undyne or something. sometimes it can happen with one’s presence if they are experiencing strong emotions or are very magically powerful. it’s basically a musical representation of his magic- the magical energy has a wavelength-like radiating effect, and it’s personal to everyone. some people have similar ones, like family or friends, and it can be affected by one’s environment as one grows up.”  
“Huh.” You wondered what yours was. “What’s mine?”  
He shrugged. “dunno.” He thought for a minute. “maybe when papyrus gets back we can train and find out.” he shrugged again. “it’ll at least get him off my back for not training regularly.”  
You were curious. “Why don’t you train?”  
He looked at you dully. “because i use my magic for everything. i constantly keep it in a decent condition with all of the teleporting and blue magic anyway.”  
“Fair enough.”  
You sat in silence until Papyrus came through the doorway with a few snacks to eat.  
“WHAT WAS THIS I HEARD ABOUT TRAINING?”

_\-------------_  
Alphys was asleep, the reflection of brightly coloured anime reflecting off of her glasses. Endogeny looked in on her, then got one of the other more humanlike amalgamates, which also looked kinda like a spoon, solidifying for a moment before melting again. They brought in a large, fluffy blanket, The light-coloured outfit they wore showing off their thin, almost stick-like appendages. Their gloppy carpals glinted off of the TV light as they tucked it around her.  
They still had that mother’s touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Hello! I've noticed a few things,  
> 1) A ton of people have been reading this. Thank you! You have made my day!  
> 2) That the tag Sanders Sides may be attracting a lot of Fanders. Due to that, and the fact that they do not really appear until Chapter 20 or so, I shall henceforth increase my pre-written chapter production for at least the span of time for the Underground. This only lasts until Chapter 14, so after that I will be slowing it down a little. How often I post will be determined then, but when I post I will usually post more than one if I have it written. I make no promises. I only have access to my desktop for half of the week, so I will usually post at the beginning of the week. Depending on the consumption of these chapters, I may add some winks and nods to some Sanders Stuff before they show up. I don't really know yet. Anyway, Have a great day, and thank you for reading!)
> 
> My Tumblr thing is Dorktapus42 if you want to check it out. We could maybe chat or something. If you want to.  
> Feel free to comment for any suggestions you have for the plot, and have a good one!


	6. Quinn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy! This is a bit longer than some of the other chapters, so... yeah. I wrote some parts of this twice, so I hope you enjoy the final product!

The three of you stood in the snow. You felt slightly apprehensive. Papyrus was stretching. Sans was standing there, hands deep in his pockets, looking completely relaxed, as if he was used to this kind of situation. You closed your eyes and breathed deeply. You opened them.   
You were filled with DETERMINA-wait, no, just a chill.   
Papyrus began. He threw a series of easy to dodge bones at you, and you dodged them. The two of you looked at Sans, who shrugged and swigged a bottle of ketchup from his endless pockets. Papyrus sighed. He gestured to you. You swallowed and faintly saw four buttons floating in your peripheral vision. You pressed MERCY. He made a sweeping motion with his arm. You felt unreasonably heavy, tied down to the snowy cave floor. You looked down. A cartoonish blue heart sat hovering right in front of your chest, about an inch above your hoodie.   
“YOU ARE BLUE NOW! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!”   
You pressed MERCY again. Papyrus looked at you strangely, then shrugged and threw a couple of fast-moving horizontal bones at you. You jumped over them like hurdles. You pressed MERCY again. Papyrus sighed.   
“MISS BOREALIS, I DO NOT THINK THAT YOU ARE GRASPING THE CONCEPT OF TRAINING. YOU AND I HAVE TO WORK OUR HARDEST TO FIGHT EACH OTHER SO WE WILL BE PREPARED IN A BATTLE. SPARING ME WILL DO NOTHING IN A FIGHT.”  
You shrugged. “I’d rather fight only if needed dude. It’s not like I want to not fight at all, but only as a last resort and if I feel like that person deserves it.”  
Papyrus smiled thinly. He turned to his brother. “SANS! FIGHT WITH US SO OUR GUEST CAN TRAIN!” His brother shrugged, and entered the encounter.   
“ok.”   
Papyrus smiled. “IS THIS BETTER?” You still felt uncomfortable. How was this better?  
“Uh…” You pressed MERCY again. Before Papyrus could react, the tune shifted. It became brasher, more in your face than Papyrus’s. A glowing spear narrowly missed you. Sans waved.   
“hey undyne.”   
“Wassup punks!” She turned to you. “Why aren’t you fighting?” Sans and Papyrus were butted out of the encounter,   
You shrugged. “Rather use MERCY.”  
She sighed. “I had this same problem with Papyrus when he first came to me. He was such a bonehead that he wouldn’t fight even if it was so he could be better if he had to.” She sighed.   
“Sometimes it’s better to know when to fight than to not fight at all.” You pondered this. It clicked. There was a time and place after all, and a fish-warrior did seem to make your thoughts hurry up.  
“I guess so.” You scratched behind your head awkwardly. “Wow I’m dumb.” She laughed a little.   
“Fuhuhuh. At least you learned that. Most of these monsters don’t know when to. They’re either too shy to do anything, or all gung ho about it.” She let Papyrus back into the battle. Sans had disappeared. Papyrus looked confused at the two of you.  
“Sorry Papyrus. I was totally in the wrong.” He looked happier. He put his hands on his hips.   
“IT IS OKAY MISS BOREALIS! THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, YOU LEARNED SOMETHING, AND THE GREAT PAPYRUS HELPED YOU TO LEARN AN IMPORTANT THING WITHOUT COMMITING A VIOLENCE!” He looked proud. You were slightly confused.  
-He’s proud that you learned without having to learn from your mistakes.-  
Oh. That made sense.   
*Where’s my chocolate?*  
Ugh. There goes your peace and quiet. You sighed. Papyrus looked at you, and summoned a bone like a staff.   
“MAYBE WE CAN TRY THE LESS CONVENTIONAL FORM OF FIGHTING?” You summoned a couple of fireballs, tilting your head.   
“One to one?”  
“YES.”  
“Okay.”  
You both got into battle stances. Undyne watched with curiosity. The faint tunes of two battle themes rang through the air. The three of you paused to listen. There was Papyrus’s, yes, but there was a distinct 4-beated electric violin-esque tune, quickly intertwining Papyrus’s. Do do do do du du du du do do do do du du du du… There was some longer, wisplike tunes strung out in the background, and it sounded kind of like a clock. It was interesting. Simple at some points, yet the opposite in others. You got ready to fight, and Undyne shouted, “GO!” 

Papyrus went head on, batting the fireballs away like they were baseballs with his bone staff. He swung at you. You created a green shield and blocked it, attempting to swipe out his legs out from underneath him with a leg. He tried to sweep your legs out from under you with another bone. You created another green shield with your other hand.   
~Don’t just do defense!~   
The second shield shifted into an orange trident against your will. You sighed internally, then decided to go with it. You blocked and parried, but was unable to stop anything when Papyrus kicked the shield out of your hand and leveled a bone towards you, ala fencing style. He smiled.   
“ENGUARDE!” The trident disappeared.   
*Oh for god’s sake. You people are not good at offense.* Chara grumbled.  
You felt an oddly shaped red sword settle into your hand. It looked like a decorative rapier, but a flowery design on the hilt. You barely managed to block Papyrus’s blow. You didn’t want to fight like this, even if the sword was beautiful. It dissipated in a burst of red sparkles, dissolving in your hands.   
^Defense!^ A shield appeared. Papyrus looked confused. So did Undyne.   
~*Offense!*~ An red trident appeared in the other hand.   
“Crap!” You stepped back, letting go of both. You backed away. Undyne came closer. So did Papyrus. You sat down on the steps by their doorway. They sat next to you. You sighed. This was awkward as frick.  
“ARE YOU OKAY?”  
“Yeah punk. What happened?”  
“The SOULS took over and kept doing what they thought was best. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what was best for what I needed to do to fight. Two wanted offense, one wanted defense. It didn’t work out.”  
Undyne and Papyrus thought for a moment.   
“At least you have a lot of options. You basically can do whatever you want.”  
“YOU JUST NEED THE SOULS TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE.” You thought about this for a minute, tuning out the SOULS just for a minute.   
You were filled with HOPE.  
“Can we try again?”  
They looked at each other. “OKAY!”   
“But with no people.”   
Undyne cocked her head. “Okay, but it’s less fun that way.”

\---Later----

Undyne had set up a triangle of spears at a target of sorts. She directed you from a few feet away. Papyrus had gone inside to get a snack and some water.  
“Point your arm towards the target. Envision every emotion you are feeling right now, be it anger, or stress, or hopelessness, but turn it into usable energy. Feel that energy flowing throughout your body, and forming in the air as physical magic. Force that energy towards the target. Try to amplify your output with emotions as a start; it will be easier with time to do it without the emotional jump bost.”  
You closed your eyes, taking in a large, crisp, clear, breath. You thought about your emotions. What did you feel? You felt… apprehension and nervousness and expectations and focus. You used the focus, not wanting to dwell on the other stuff. You channeled that focus into a point, letting it flow through your body like a river, energy making your body hum silently. You exhaled, and opened your eyes. You felt Determined. You raised your arm towards the target, and pushed it forward, as if releasing energy in that direction. The wind shifted, and there was a sound not unlike an electronic hum as a shadow fell over you. You faintly heard a disturbance next to you, drawing you out of your tunnel vision. Undyne was looking at the thing casting a shadow above you in fear, a spear in hand, backing away a few steps. You looked up.  
“Holy-”   
A massive skull floated above you, staring down the target. As your focus in the training evaporated, it- no, they- floated down back to the ground behind you. You turned to face it, and the two of you narrowly missed being kabobbed by a spear. You both looked at Undyne. She faltered under your combined gazes. The Blaster cocked their head, making a slight whining noise. You blinked at the Captain. She blinked back at the two of you. The Blaster- you really should think of a name for them- nudged their muzzle under your hand. You stroked them absently as the two of you looked at each other, one in slight hostility, one in definite confusion.  
“What the heck dude.”   
She blanched.   
You looked at her, surveying. Her posture was ramrod, as if expecting an attack. Her eye was wide, mouth set. She was breathing hard, without her usual confidence. You furrowed your brow.   
“I’m still not gonna attack you.” She shifted slightly, then sighed, looking towards the house to see Papyrus’s head sticking out of the window.   
“WOWIE!”  
You heard the sound of some snow falling off of the roof as he ran out of the door, slamming it behind him. It fell onto his skull, but he shook it off as he crossed to the Blaster. He got onto his knees before it, and started to pet it before Undyne could stop him.  
“WHO’S A GOOD BLASTER? YOU ARE! YES YOU ARE!” He looked back at you. “WHAT IS THEIR NAME?” You thought for a minute.   
“Quinn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This was originally half the size- no Blaster at all- so I decided to add them! I hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading and have a good day!)  
> (An idea for her theme song- NOT MINE! This belongs to the lovely artist Jackson Black (Mitzu)- https://soundcloud.com/kuko-jackson-black/on-fire-underfell-grillbys-theme?in=dorktapus42/sets/undertale-stuff )


	7. Hello Darlings~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope you enjoy this; I don't usually like writing Mettaton, but I think it turned out okay. Thank you for all of your support- I didn't ever think this would be this popular in my wildest dreams! I basically just posted this to say thank you. So... thank you!

You sat on the couch inside, reading the book left on the side table, casually munching a small chocolate bar to appease Chara. Specifically, the Quantum Physics book. You kept up the facade of the Joke Book though. It was ironic. Fortunately, it just covered the basics, because most of it still went over your head. You were just looking at the aspects of how light could move objects because could produce force even with zero mass, when Papyrus came in from properly sparring with Undyne. To your surprise, a large, rectangular robot wheeled in too, talking adamantly with the skeleton. Undyne followed them, looking annoyed at the calculator’s presence.

(That egotistical jerk. I wish I could pull a Bravery on him.)

-Can we please go back to photons?-

^Guys, no fighting!^

You inwardly sighed and went back to your book. However, you were taken out of your haven by a metallic hand forcing down the cover. You glared at the offending robot.

“Hello darling! Papy dear, who is this beauty?”~

You waved halfheartedly forcing a smile. “Hi. I’m Borealis.” 

He looked at you critically. “Really. A joke book darling?”~ 

You took out the Quantum Physics book. He looked surprised. However, he brushed off the slight awkwardness with a straightening of his wheel,(?) and flashed a smile at you with his screen. Classy. 

(Hey, at least he isn’t wearing the dress this time.)

This time?! Wait, he does that a lot? You forced the thought away, and smiled at the robot as best as you could. “So Mr. Mettaton, although it was nice to meet you, I really-”

“Nonsense Darling!”~ He took out a picture of himself, autographed it, and stuck it onto your forehead in one fluid motion. He patted your cheek. “Anything for my fabulous fans.”~ 

^He came into Grillby’s while I worked there once. That guy sure is pompous.^

*Wow Kindness, say what’s on your mind.* Chara said sarcastically.

^I did!^

You heard a couple of smacks as some of the others mentally facepalmed. Kindness finally got it. 

^OH!^ 

=There ya go.=

~Jeez dude, it took you long enough.~

Hey, don’t beat them up about it. You were brought back to the conversation by Sans popping into thin air in a flash of blue light. Cool. He looked surprised to see the others in his living room. His eyes widened. He straightened a bit, digging his hands deeper into his pocket.

“uh, hey guys?” He waved at them, then noticed you. “like the physics book?” You nodded, wondering how he knew that was the one you were reading. 

“Most of it goes over my head, but it sure is en-light-ening.” Papyrus groaned. Sans raised a brow. 

“you did good on rules one through four but failed on four point five. great job though.” 

You shrugged. “Four out of five ain’t bad.” You winced. “Remind me to never say ain’t again. It shouldn’t be a word.”

“OKAY!” Papyrus finally entered the conversation. He looked jealous of your autograph, although you figured he probably had dozens, being such great friends with the robot. It probably was reduced in value because it was singed.

“i think that it’s suitably lazy.” 

“Of course you would. You are notorious for your laziness ya bonebag.” Undyne said, using him as an armrest. He flicked her in the arm. She didn’t move. He sighed, then took out a bottle of ketchup and took a swig. Mettaton dragged Papyrus away to try out a new dance routine. You went back to your book. A couple of minutes passed. Undyne got bored and followed them, leaving just you and the skeleton. 

“you know, you should really try talking to them.” he said, flopping down next to you. You looked up in surprise. “i was on the roof chilling the whole time.” Of course he was. “nice blaster by the way.”

“Thanks. What else do you suggest?” He thought for a minute, completely serious for once. He shrugged, then teleported a slightly torn manual into your hands via blue magic. He looked at you, winking. “didn’t really work for me, but it might work for you.” he stood up. “welp, i’m going to grillby’s. do you want anything?” You shook your head. He shrugged and disappeared. You looked down at the manual. A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation. Dammit Sans.

*Why not? Worth a try.*

You sighed, then sat down on the floor, opening the book. You followed the instructions and promptly fell asleep. Dammit Sans.   
You were in a large white room, looking at a long grey couch. There sat seven figures. One light blue, one green, one orange, one purple, one dark blue, and one yellow. One turned around to look at you. 

A familiar voice said, ~Well look at what the cat dragged in.~ The one in orange waved. ~Heya.~ The others turned around, all except the one in dark blue and purple, who were reading thick books. The one in yellow tilted their head, cowboy hat on their head and empty gun in a holster. 

(Well then.) 

They were interrupted by the one in green, who wore a stained apron and was strumming a pan like it was a banjo. They dropped the pan, and leapt over the back of the couch and shook your hand vigorously. 

^Hi! It’s nice to finally meet you!^ 

You were confused. Chara looked over, rolling their eyes. *They’re the SOULS you idiot.* She went back to fiddling with their locket. You mouthed an ‘oh.’, feeling like an utter idiot. Patience looked up from their book, a faded ribbon keeping their hair back from their face. 

=Hi.= They went back to their book, apparently feeling like this was as social as they needed to be. Integrity looked up too, putting a bookmark in their book. 

\- Well you seem to be either dreaming or meditating, so it’s nice to finally meet face to face I guess.- 

They crossed their legs, faded ballet shoes tied to their feet. They went back to their book, The History Of Ballet. You looked around. There was nothing else for them to do. It looked boring. Was this their form of an afterlife? This simple room without the company of anyone other than the other SOULS? 

*Yes.* You looked surprised of Chara’s words. Then you realized your thoughts were being broadcasted. You blocked your thoughts off, feeling awkward. The others took it matter-of-factly. 

~Takes a bit to get used to, but then it’s pretty smooth sailing, not having much to do. Time runs together here.~

^It’s not all that bad!^ Green, the Optimist, jumped up from their perch on the arm of the couch. ^We at least have company!^ The others grumbled a bit at this. You were going to say something but was roughly shaken awake by Undyne. 

“What do you want?” You said, groggy. 

^That was rude. She interrupted a pleasant conversation.^

*That fishface…*

She looked slightly ashamed. “Surprise cooking lesson?” You stared at her, not unlike how Grillby stared at her a few days ago. She sighed, sitting down on the floor next to you. 

“You fell asleep on the floor. What else was I supposed to do?” You kept staring. She groaned. “FINE! I was worried about how you were getting along with the SOULS.” You accepted this answer. It made sense. Then you remembered something.

“Oh, by the way Undyne, did you know that Sans was on the roof the entire time while we were training?” She growled. 

“That BONEBAG! He constantly keeps doing this! I thought he actually went to Grillby’s or something this time! He just watches over his brother everywhere. It’s not like anything’s gonna happen to him! I won’t allow it! No monster will, he’s just too nice, and if a human came here it’d be captured for sure!” She kept rambling, but you were thinking rapidly. However, Chara interrupted your thoughts. 

*Yes on the timeline theory, no on the Sans idea, and kinda on the time travel.* You screeched to a stop.

*If you’re wondering, the others are asleep. I’m the only one talking to you right now.*

How do you know this? Not the asleep thing, but the time stuff.

*I’m a Determination SOUL. I used to have that power. There’s another human coming with that power as well. They’ve been keeping the Underground in a loop for years.*

Should I tell Sans?

*He already knows.*

How?

*He retains some of the memories from the previous RESET.*

What, are we in a video game?

*No. That’s just the term.*

Oh. Yeah, that was just a bit too metta. Wait, how do you know?

There was silence on the other end.

*I don’t want to talk about it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and they definitely didn’t help anybody.* You were silent.

Ok. 

You were roused out of your stupor by Undyne looking right into your eyes, face only inches from yours.

“Ghahh!” You instinctively flew backwards, only to be stopped by the couch. She glared at you. 

“You weren’t listening to me at all were you?!” You shook your head silently. She smiled, baring her teeth. “Well, you shall have to be punished only like a BESTIE shall!” She grabbed you in a headlock faster than you could blink, and started to give you a noogie. The other SOULS woke up quickly.

^What the heck?!^ 

~Dude, not cool!~

Chara was laughing, gasping for breath. You squirmed. 

“UNDYNE! DON’T NOOGIE THE GUEST!” Woosh. Saved by the skeleton. She let go, setting her sights on the figure waiting near the bottom of the stairs. She advanced, gripping his skull in a death headlock. “UNDYNE! DON’T NOOGIE THE SKELETON!” Sans heard the commotion and opened the door from his room. He looked disheveled, with massive bags under his sockets.

“why are you guys doing this at one am?” They froze instantly. He sighed, and rubbed his eyesockets. “you two keep doing this. this is one of the reasons why i’m constantly napping…” He grumbled incoherently after that, shutting the door to his room and leaving the three of you in the semi-darkness. 

 

You felt something was off, but you couldn’t figure out what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to say hi on Tumblr, you can visit my Page of Weirdness @Dorktapus42! I haven't posted much yet, but feel free to say Hi! Thank you for reading, and have a good day!


	8. Friends In High Places

The three of you kipped the rest of the night downstairs, you on the couch, Undyne and Papyrus in a ‘friend pile’, headlocking each other in their sleep. You woke up later than them, and there was a sticky note on your forehead. It must not have been there long, because it was only slightly scorched. 

 

DO NOT WORRY MISS BOREALIS! WE HAVE JUST STEPPED OUT TO PERFORM OUR DAILY RITUAL OF RUNNING TOGETHER BEFORE WORK! HELP YOURSELF TO ANY OF THE SNACKS IN THE FRIDGE OR THE PANTRY, EXCEPT FOR SANS’S KETCHUP.  
THANK YOU,  
PAPYRUS AND Undyne  
PS: WE HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY GONE TO WORK BY THE TIME YOU WAKE UP.

 

You smiled, and headed into the kitchen, looking for any signs of Sans. It appeared that he had already gone to work as well. You noticed some rivets in the snow outside their door. Nevermind, he was probably dragged. Sounded like something they would do.

You followed the rivets and large footprints and came across a few deactivated puzzles. Seems that they were only activated when needed. You kept following and came upon a sentry station. You thought it was abandoned, but you saw a few ketchup bottles. You smirked. This was definitely Sans’s station. You saw a figure walking through the gaps between some nearby trees. Another figure followed them. You peered through. 

^Le GASP! It’s a human!^ Hey, they were awake. Wait-

“H u m a n.” You heard a deep voice say. You looked towards the source. A shadow fell over the speaker, but a short human stood by the bars of the bridge. They looked to be frozen in fear. There was a small flash of red light, and you saw a glimpse of green.  
“Don’t you know how to greet a new pal?” The figure spoke, putting forward a hand. “Turn around and shake my hand.” The human unfroze, and turned around, placing their hand into the proffered one. There was a loud farting noise. Five seconds passed. It was still squealing. You could barely hold in your laughter. The shadow disappeared. It was Sans, to your surprise. The whoopie cushion should have clued you in. He chuckled. “heheh. the old whoopie-cushion-in-the-hand trick. it’s always funny.” The human looked at his hand in curiosity, probably wondering how he managed to fit the whoopie cushion in it without their notice. Sans kept talking. “anyways, you’re a human, right? that’s hilarious. i’m sans. sans the skeleton. now, i’m actually supposed to be on the watch for humans right now, but, y’know...” He paused. The human looked a little nervous. “i don’t really care about capturing anybody.“ They looked more relaxed. “now my brother, papyrus, he’s a human-hunting fanatic.” Back to the nervousness. “hey, actually, i think that’s him over there.” You could see the anxiety escalate. “i have an idea. go through this gate thing. yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.” They looked confused, but accepted it. They passed out of your field of vision. You faintly saw the faint ghost of Chara following them. You had an idea. 

“Psttt! Chara!” You whispered loudly, looking through the trees. They whipped around in instinct, then saw it was you. They looked nervous. “So that’s the kid?” You whispered. They nodded. You gave them a thumbs up. “Good luck!” You snuck back into the trees. They looked confused. You stuck out your arm and made a shooing motion. They complied, floating towards Sans and the human. You waited around Sans’s post. About five minutes later, he appeared out of thin air. He looked surprised to see you. You waved. He teleported into the stand and reached under the counter.

“want a hotdog?” You shrugged, then nodded. 

“Sure.”

He went to work making it, then gave it to you. “free of charge.” You snickered. 

“Good, cause I don’t have any change.” He handed it to you, and you took a bite. Your eyes closed a little in bliss.

“Dang that’s good.” You swallowed, then took another big bite. He smiled. 

“thanks. i’ll take that as a condiment.” You looked dully at him, then continued to inhale the ‘dog. You finished, then wiped your mouth.

“So who was the human?” He froze, eyelights small in surprise. 

“you saw them?” 

“Yep. Saw Chara too.” He looked confused  
.  
“how?” 

You pointed to the trees. He looked astonished.

“huh.” 

Well, that was anticlimactic. Not that you were expecting a duel to the death, but he just shrugged and set his skull on his arms, looking into space. He started to nod off. You let him. The three of you had woken him up super early after all, and that would ruin anyone’s day. You settled yourself down next to the stand, leaning your head back onto the wood behind you. You felt drowsy all of a sudden. Your eyes fell closed. You drifted away. 

\---------------  
Mettaton looked over at Papyrus, glad that his box form hid his blush. Papyrus was just so gosh darn cute that it made him want to sing more than he always wanted to. 

Was he in love?

He filed this away for further thought, planning what he would write in his diary later as he looked at the energetic skeleton read the script he had Burgerpants write. 

He should really give that cat a raise.

Oh well, tack that on the to-do list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Sorry it’s so short- I had a bit of trouble with this when I first wrote it. Either way, hope you enjoyed, and hope that you like this series! I never expected so many of you to be interested in this at all, so thanks! Have a great day/week/rest of your existence! Have a good one!)
> 
> Tumblr @ Dorktapus42 if you want to say hi or read the couple of posts I've done. I sometimes will post art, but only if nobody steals it or anything. Have a good day!


	9. Smoke and Mirrors

There was blackness. Utter, complete blackness.

No, blackness wasn’t quite the word. It was just the absence of anything. Color, light, stimulation. You drifted there for a while, not sure whether you felt a similar sense of self. You felt like yourself, but not anything attached to it. You realized that it was the absence of the SOULS. There was a sort of freedom in that. There was suddenly a bright white light in front of you, the brightest thing you had ever seen. You raised a transparent, outlined blue arm in front of your eyes in reflex. The light didn’t abate. You looked at it in curiosity, eyes starting to get used to the orb of shiny death. You stuck your hands deep into your hoodie pocket as you leaned around it, floating in the ether. You stretched out a shimmering blue hand hesitantly. As soon as your fingers seemed to brush the surface, you plummeted into another view. 

There was a warmly lit hall, covered in yellow and dark orange tiles. The wispy forms of multiple figures surged through the room in fast forward- all with Sans standing in the same place, all with the human you had seen earlier coming into the picture. Many held a small, dust-covered knife, glinting in the light. Some looked nervous. All looked prepared, Determined to continue. Some stopped, looking at Sans in astonishment. Some snarled at the skeleton, fists clenched around the handle of their well-used weapon. They all advanced in their own way. You faintly heard small snippets of conversation. 

“you never gained a single EXP.”

“Shut up comedian.”

A red light glinted in the human’s eyes at this, shining through their wispy brown bangs. 

“then w h y’ d y o u k i l l m y b r o t h e r ?”

These images grew less faint, and the ones with the human and Sans hugging grew dimmer and dimmer. The voices were louder. 

“It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming, and kids like you..”

You heard a small ping as you saw the faint lines of an encounter.

“Should be burning in h e l l.” You saw bones and blasters shimmer in and out of existence. The faint humans with the knife dodged. The ones with a kind smile on their faces walked out of the room, past Sans, who looked after them wistfully. The bones continued, then, after a while, abated. Sans looked at the human.

“can’t we just forget all of this?” In some, the human gripped the knife harder, eating a sandwich or some pie in the battle’s lull. But in others… 

They let go of the knife, hand trembling. Tears streamed down their face. They sank down to their knees and started to sob. Sans looked weary. The battle raged in the background of your vision. He walked towards the human. He stuck out his hand. They crushed him in a bear hug, knocking him back several feet. He looked past them, melancholic. He silently started to cry, blue-tinged tears streaking down his face. He shuffled his fingers through their hair, and made an upwards motion. Bones thrust up from the floor like spikes. The human faded away like a shadow, the soul cracking apart. He dropped to his knees, head buried in his hands. That scene faded away, and you were forced to look at an endless-seeming battle sequence. You regained the senses of a physical form, and drew your shimmering knees to your chest, looking on in shock. 

He had to do that every time the human decided to change.

You watched in silence as the battle before you slowed. Sans was panting. He wiped sweat from his brow, looking at the monster before him. He put his hands in his pockets and tried to smile, eyes darting around in a last attempt to find something that could not be found. He sighed, then had to keep his eyes from closing with sudden fatigue. The monster before him panted, evidently sensing the battle drawing to a close. He looked at them, weariness radiating from his body. He said something that you couldn’t catch, but made the monster before him look outraged. He slowly couldn’t control himself dropping into a light sleep, Z’s appearing above his standing form. The human grew angry. They gripped their knife, and somehow managed to lunge at him. He sidestepped, looking shocked. 

“what? you think you can just-” He trailed off, a hand resting on his chest, looking at it in disbelief. The blood on it shocked him. He shuddered, falling to one knee. He gasped, then somehow found the strength to shamble to his feet and walk a few places. He let out a few muttered words, and fell. 

He was dust before he hit the ground. The human raised one hand to their mouth in shock, but then lowered it, smiling the biggest smile you had seen from anyone other than Undyne. They walked a few steps more, seemingly in shock, then ran towards the door the other versions had so peacefully exited before. 

You kept watching the pile of dust before you in silent shock. Tears fizzled on your flames, and you buried your face in your hands. 

What had he been doing for so long?

Why was he the man to kill the monsters that had plagued them for so many repeated years?

————————

You drifted in darkness for a while. The orb's light had abated, and was drifting behind you somewhat, shining with less of its former glory. Faint letters spiraled around it, the same golden yellow as the light in the scenes before. 

“JUDGEMENT HALL” You were slightly sickened by the sight of the banner twirling around the globe. 

You floated there, looking into the ether. You felt something tugging at your soul. You let it, pulling yourself into reality. 

Sans looked at you, one brow cocked.

“fancy a nap as well?” You shrugged. 

“Guess so.” You heaved yourself up, then felt overwhelmed for a minute. There was a sudden addition to everything- sights, sounds, colors, sensations. The SOULS were back as if they had never left. You felt like an introvert in the middle of a crowded room. You needed some space. Eventually. You glanced at Sans and took a chance, your inner sense of Kindness talking. 

“If it doesn’t weird you out, can I give you a hug? You look like you could use one.” He looked surprised, then shrugged, setting down a bottle of ketchup.

“uncharacteristic but might as well.” You gave him a short but crushing hug.

“Better?”

He looked around nervously. “i guess?” You felt satisfied. 

“Good.” You sat on the corner of the counter, Sans leaning back in his chair to relax.

“So you do that kind of thing a lot? Sleeping on the job?” He looked at you. You threw up your hands a bit. “Not judging, just curious.” He shifted on his seat, thinking for a brief amount of time. 

“yup.” He took a swig of his red beverage of choice. Plain and simple. Just like the facade of a certain skeleton.

“Fair enough.” You looked across the snowy landscape. The monsters you had seen briefly on your short escapade through town were strolling around, on their daily business. You felt suddenly protective of ones you had never really met. You crossed your arms, hopping down from your perch and settling on the ground. He looked over the counter at a white dog in a mech suit of armor in the distance playing with a stick thrown by a blue bipedal bunny. You sat there, thoughts drifting. 

\----------

Did she know about the RESETS? She must- there are the SOULS after all- but just how much?

Was she someone he could trust? 

That thought chilled him to the bone- well, more to the bone. He was a skeleton after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This was super fun to write! I hope you enjoyed, and have a good day!)
> 
> Question- does anyone know how to make it so Italic and Underline transfer when you copy-and-paste the writing from Word to ArchiveOfOurOwn? This whole chapter was supposed to be italicised and underlined, and Frisk's dialogue is supposed to be italicised. I'd really like to know if someone either knows or has the time to comment. Thank you! Have a great day!


	10. Geisterparty

After a while in silence, Sans stood up and teleported away. Probably to meet with the human. You couldn’t believe it. They looked so nice a short minute before. Maybe this time, they were. You took a bit of Hope and tucked it away to save. The SOULS had been silent, unusually so. You leaned your head back, and slowed your thoughts to settle in empty blankness. 

“Hey guys.” You came around the couch and sat down where Chara usually did. Chara was still with the human, and the others wouldn't meet your gaze for some reason. You sighed, stretching out. “Guys.” You added a lilt of impatience. Kindness couldn’t fight it for long. They looked at you, curious like a puppy. 

^Yes?^

“Why are you avoiding me?” 

^Oh.^ They looked ashamed but looked towards Bravery. For once, Bravery didn’t look brave. They looked nervous, looking down and rubbing their neck behind their head.   
~Well, you see, the fact of the matter is that we’re nervous. All of us, even me. This is something that has never happened in a RESET, and we don’t know what will happen. That makes us nervous, because we have a sort of…~ They trailed off. Integrity took over. 

-Dependence on the RESETS that came before. We weren’t sure what would happen. So far it has been good, but there is still a-

Perseverance took over, flipping a page in their notebook and scribbling a bit. 

=38% chance that something unexpected will happen. The fact of the matter is-=

Justice took over. (We don’t know what to think. We know that it’s unfair, but…) They trailed off, fiddling with the hat in their hands. There was a tense silence. 

You twiddled your thumbs in the quiet. You spoke up. “So you can remember RESETS?” They stared at you in silence as they contemplated what to say.

Patience said, tilting their head a bit. 

“Huh.” That was interesting. “So only those with Determination can remember the previous timelines?”

 

“Then how can Sans?” 

Perseverance flipped through their notebook, looking at a few key notes. =Well, technically, he is a whole anomaly in himself. He only has 1 HP, 1 DEF, 1 ATK, ect. The lowest stats possible. However, we believe he is channeling a power source. Specifically, from a Dimension called the Void.=

^Whether intentionally or not.^

“Huh. Do you think it is intentional?”

Bravery shrugged, adjusting their bandana. ~How the heck would we know? Anythin’s possible.~

That left food for thought. You emerged from your mindscape to see Sans, staring down at you. He had met with the human.   
“fancy another nap?” You shrugged. 

“Actually, that meditation worked. Put me to sleep, but it worked.” He looked impressed with himself. “so you were talking with the souls?” You stretched. 

“Yep.” 

He thought a minute. “what’d they say?” You shrugged nonchalantly.

“Eh, just some stuff about Chara and the human. Resets. That kind of thing.” 

“resets?” 

“Yeah. They can’t remember much, but enough to form a few theories, you know.”

“huh.” 

You smiled at the thought. “Yeah. Perseverance is working overtime.” 

=Hey!= 

~And you’re happy about it.~

=True, but…= 

They faded out into the clamor of your subconscious.

“They do like to argue. I think they’re all tolerating living in my head though.” 

Sans shuddered. “having people other than me living in my head would be a nightmare.” You could concede that.

“Yeah, the difference sounds starking.” 

He looked at you in contemplation. “if i can see chara, can i see the others?” That was random, but Kindness obliged. 

^Certainly!^   
However, unlike Chara, when Kindness appeared, they made you feel Kinder, not less. Sans looked astonished. Kindness stuck out their hand. ^Hi! I’m Joan, but you can call me Kindness! It’s nice to see you again!^ Sans tried to shake it, but his hand phased right through. Kindness looked annoyed. ^Oh. Sorry about that!^ Their apron flapped in an ethereal wind. They looked around, and realized someone- or perhaps a few someones- were missing. They turned towards you, hands on their hips. ^Guys? Come ON!^ Bravery flowed out at this, looking at Sans, who was still in shock.

~Hello. I don’t remember you.~ They turned towards Kindness. ~Why do you know him?~ 

^I fell after you.^ Kindness didn’t look annoyed, miraculously. 

Bravery nodded. ~Right!~ They tried to shake Sans’s hand, and failed. ~I’m Alex.~ Sans waved.

“it’s a shame i can’t do my signature move on you guys. it may lift your spirits.” Kindness looked confused.

^But I feel fine- Oh wait a minute…^

Justice appeared and waved. (Hello.) They had left their gun. Good choice. (I’m Irik, also known as Justice.) They didn’t try to shake hands, sensing it was futile. 

Sans waved. “hi.” The others appeared too, joining the party. 

-Hi. I’m Integrity, also known as Robin.- They bowed in his direction.

=I’m Perseverance, also known as Emi.= They hugged their notebook to their chest. 

They tugged on their ribbon nervously. 

^And then there’s Chara, whom you already know.^ Kindness wrapped up, bouncing on their heels. 

“So that’s all of them.” He looked astonished. 

“all?! that’s the population of grillby’s at any given moment!” 

Kindness laughed a bit. ^Yeah. Working there was so fun.^ They were interrupted by a timer on Sans’s phone. 

“welp. that’s my cue to go to hotland. wanna come?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I figured that because the last post's chapters were so short, I decided to post another! 
> 
> Tumblr (if you want it): https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42
> 
> Have a good day, and don't let this week get you down! Be it whether you're on spring break because of school, have to return to school, have been at school for a while, or aren't at school at all, don't let time grind you down. Stay DETERMINED, and have a great day!


	11. Hotland

You gripped his hand. Blue light filled your vision for a moment. The SOULS gasped. They were in Hotland. They had teleported with you and were looking at a multitude of things. Some of them had never gotten this far before they were captured. You looked across a long bridge stretching to a large grey building visible in the distance. Bravery floated next to you, blending in slightly with the orange-y landscape. They looked across the bridge, looking at the building as if accepting a great trial. They made to charge across it…

And the two of you were flung in the opposite direction by Sans, who’s eyelights had disappeared, leaving a dead appearance. The others landed next to you. He raised a finger to his mouth, and settled in his station, looking as relaxed as possible. He looked like he was asleep. The six SOULS vanished, and you crouched behind a large rock. 

You soon saw why he had forced the seven of you away. The human ran across the way, as if for dear life. You saw Chara floating next to them, shouting something.

*Crap crap crap crap crap! Run run run run run….* They kept running. Or floating, in Chara's case. 

Undyne ran past the rock, then halted in her tracks as she saw Sans at his post. The human kept running as she stopped, working their way across the bridge. The Captain stared in disbelief at the sentry before her. She raised a hand to her helmet, as if facepalming, then started to yell at him.

“WAKE UP you LAZY WASTE OF SPACE!” Sans opened his eyes lazily. 

“hey ‘dyne.” He stretched. “whatta ya need?” She pointed towards the human in the distance. 

“THERE is a HUMAN in the Underground RIGHT NOW, and you would NEVER know unless they were present for the HOUR, TOPS, you spent awake at your post!” Sans shrugged at her, winking.

“i knew they were here. interacted with ‘em a few times too. they’re a good kid.” He swigged a bottle of ketchup from under the counter of his stand. 

“They’re a HUMAN Sans! A HUMAN! They could dust you in SECONDS!” He looked at her, utterly serious for once. He set down the bottle. 

“i know.” 

She gaped at him for a few seconds, then shook her head and ran after the fleeing figure, throwing spears like her life depended on it. He sighed.

“she never understands that whenever i say it.” You could barely catch the mutter. He put his head back down on his arms.

“i’m gonna go back to sleep. if you want, you can explore or somethin’. you can chill here too. i don’t care.” 

You stood up, looking at the dwindling figures in the distance. You started to walk after them. Bravery shimmered into existence, floating beside you. The others crowded behind the two of you, in their ‘physical’ forms as well. They had been silent during the ordeal, and Perseverance was writing frantically, floating off of the bridge. Kindness occasionally floated over and adjusted them so they were going in the right direction. You came to a chunk of rock, where there was a water cooler. An empty paper cup sat on the ground next to it. As you advanced, it burst into flames in the corner of your eye. This place had been aptly named. You came towards the large, grey building. You could now see that it was the Lab. You rung the doorbell. Bravery phased through. The door creaked open at your touch. You walked across the threshold and saw a massive monitor attached to the wall, along with a box-strewn desk. There was a security feed on the monitor, playing the human using a few massive vents to get towards another area.  
So Alphys was recording the human, keeping tabs on them. You walked through the room, stopping at a massive hole in the wall. Well that was unusual. A trash can was turned over in a corner by a potted dead plant. It moved, causing everyone but Bravery to jump. You nudged it over, and saw a tiny, square-shaped robot with a bucket filled with tiny, white hearts. It threw a few like flower petals at a wedding, then rolled through the gaping hole that had been busted into the room. Justice shot the petals with a yellow bullet from a yellow gun that had appeared in their hands. You all looked at them. 

(I hate those things. They were what killed me in the first place.) 

Kindness hugged them. They adjusted their hat, and continued in the direction where Bravery had walked, shaking off the green SOUL, who looked sad. You shrugged at the others, then the five of you followed, Patience hugging Kindness as they walked. You came out at a doorway, then saw a maze of fans marked with arrows. You stepped on one, and was blown to the other side of a chasm faster than you could blink. You smiled.

“Cool.”

You made your way to the opposite way, and was going to go through the doorway when you heard a tiny high-pitched voice. 

“Excuse me gentlemonster?” You knelt down towards them. They waved a small telegram. “Do you mind taking this to the spider clan inside? It’s from the Ruins.” 

You smiled at them, nodded, then carefully took the paper, making sure to not let it burn.

“Thank you!” They disappeared. You opened the heavy door, and stepped into a room full of webs. A larger spider came up to you. You gave it the telegraph. They motioned for you to wait. You did, and looked around. You looked through the wall-like webs, and saw the human. 

They were stuck in the web on the floor, and looking up towards a spider-esque monster humanoid. The spider mistress triggered an encounter. The human tried to smile as they pressed MERCY. The monster giggled, then poured a purple liquid on the human’s SOUL, turning it purple. The other SOULS were watching in fascination, Perseverance writing frantically. The spider who took the telegram came back with a purple donut. You took it, then took a bite. It was sugary sweet, and tasted like a donut shaped funnel cake. It was heaven. You focused on the fight. The human was doing a pretty good job at dodging, pressing MERCY between each turn. They were definitely on a pacifist route. You looked at the SOULS. They were attentive, focused on the fight in silence, thinking as fast as you. Chara formed, and watched with them, giving advice to the human.

Was this really the same kid that had slaughtered everyone?

Your instincts told you both no and yes. This was confusing. 

The fight slowed when one of the spiders presented the telegram to their mistress. 

“This is for you, Mistress Muffet. It’s from the Ruins.”

Muffet took the telegram. The others looked nervous. Muffet giggled, then smiled at the human.

“I’m so sorry dearie! This has been just a big misunderstanding!” She tapped her chin with one of her hands. She waved at one of the spiders. They gave her a few of the donuts. She presented them to the human. “Maybe this will make it up to you! You can come back anytime!” The human took them, and wandered off, looking confused. They ate one, and walked out of the door. Chara waved, and disappeared. 

\---------

Fettstablek hovered his form over the water. Stupid kid, making him take magical damage. He probably shouldn’t have let that slip…. Oh well. It’s their fault anyway- that “Pacifist” made him take damage- it almost destroyed his physical form! He sloughed through some garbage, feeling that same disconnect they had felt when they had settled with this form. Maybe they needed a new one? 

Maybe. He hoped his cousins were happy with their choices- he missed them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this is so short, but this week was going by pretty slow for me and I figured that this may make a day for someone! Or not. Anyway, I hope you like it, and I had to add a bit more to the ghost family. This'll take a while (Ish), so be prepared, and skip ahead if you want to. Have a good day!
> 
> Basically, there are three branches of the ghost family. Blek, Blook, and Ton. They have basically the same shape for a monster, being a general ghost (like the classic Napstablook kind of sheet ghost), and they run the snail farm. The three families run it together, and Napstabook, Mettaton, and Fettstablek are the youngest ghosts in their generation. They each have different goals- Mettaton wants to be a star, Fettstablek corporeal, and Napstablook is happy running the snail farm outside of his DJ aspirations. They eventually all leave home, but Napstablook still visits the snails every week or so, because he thinks they won't judge him. Yeah. Anyway, thank you for reading, and have a great day!


	12. Death-Kissed

You stole out of the door behind the webs and left the way the human did. You saw them ahead, sweating under their jacket. You saw Sans up ahead at another booth, selling hot dogs. The human walked up to the skeleton and waved. The sentry handed them a hotdog and said something. They dug out a few coins and put them on the counter, scarfing down the ‘dog. Man, they either ate a lot or had almost died in the battle with the spider. Sans took out another ‘dog, said something, then placed it on the human’s head. This continued for about ten minutes, Sans levitating them onto their head and the human staying as still as possible. He finally shrugged and stopped with the head-dogs. The human wobbled, tried to walk, then the ‘dogs all came crashing down. They dissipated in the heat, like magic. The human looked at the skeleton, confused out of their mind. Sans shrugged, and the kid left, looking super confused. You walked up. He looked surprised.

“heya. whatcha doin’?”

“Exploring. I went past Muffet’s. Got a donut for helping them with something.” He looked at you. 

“didja see the kid?” You nodded. 

“Was quite impressed actually. They have some serious dodging skill. Chara looked like they were having fun.” He looked skeptical. 

“fun?” 

You nodded, understanding his skepticism. “Yeah. Nothing bad happened or anything. The kid’s quite the pacifist.” You saw his mind whirring. Had the previous RESET been a ‘no mercy’ run? His look told you yes. You sat near the counter. The two of you sat in silence. 

“so whatta ya know about the timelines?”

That was out of the blue. You faltered in your thoughts.

“Uhh… Not much? I mean- probably more than some, but not that much? I don’t know- I know about them, first of all, and I know that the kid is very different in some of them but other than that? I mean- well, how’s to put this…” You trailed off, looking at the ground. “I’ve seen parts of the Judgement Hall? In dreams and such?” He looked at you, eyes dark, breath suspiciously even. Forced.

“you have?” The way he said it sent a chill down your spine. You shuddered.

“Only glimpses. Not much overall, but-” You were interrupted by a flash of blue. The kid had come back to say hi and had thrown themselves between them. They looked at the skeleton, reading him like a book. 

“Sans.” They whispered. “Don’t.” You looked around them. He was holding his chest in reflex, one eye tinged blue while the other was dark. You were worried, despite the situation. 

“heh. heheh.” He gasped a bit as he laughed. He looked through them, face expressionless and distant, eye sockets widened slightly. “what do ya have to say?” He sounded angry; resentful, but trembling slightly as his hand was clasped to his chest and his eyes gaping pits of shadows.

Chara appeared and held out a hand. They had sadness in their eyes and a set expression. 

*I’m sorry Sans. I know that won’t amount for much but-*

He whirled towards the ghost, face showing expression, eye blazing again. That was fast. His breathing has quickened, and his eyes were darting around the human, focusing on the face and hands. “sorry? sorry?! you helped to kill everyone i love so many times. so many times. you gave me false hope and-” The blue eye dissipated. He clenched his hands tight. There were small popping sounds as his ribcage expanded erratically. “you killed pap. i will never ever forgive you for that. never.” His voice seemed strained, clenched with emotional distress. Chara did nothing but nod.

*I know. I accept whatever punishment you want to give me. But I’ve changed. I want to change Sans. I’m Determined to. You can either turn your back and let me change anyway or embrace it and help me be better. I want to make it up to you. And Papyrus. And Asriel. And everyone else.*

He looked at the ghost hard, then sighed, unclenching his fists. His teeth were closed tight as if holding something back. 

“fine. you have one more chance. after that, i’m done.” He disappeared in a flash of blue light. The kid and Chara turned to you. 

“Are you okay?* You nodded. Then you realized that Sans had just tried to kill you. Holy shit. You blanched. 

“Uh... yeah? I mean, thank you for technically saving my life and all. I didn't ever think he would do that, but hey; people have their own sides of the story and do rash things. I shouldn't judge." Frisk stared at you. 

“So you know about the RESETS?” You nodded. 

“Yeah.” 

They looked at you, reading you. Then they smiled and reached out a hand. You shook it. 

“Borealis.”

“Frisk.” They motioned to Chara. “This is-” Chara interrupted them.

*They know who I am.* Frisk looked confused. 

“They knew you before you died?”

*No.* They didn’t volunteer any information. You both knew you couldn’t get any information out of them if you tried, so you volunteered some of your own. 

“They were kinda in my head for a while. The consciousness of the other SOULS are there too. There is seriously zero peace and quiet. It’s probably why I can see them.”

Frisk opened their mouth to speak, but decided to change their mind. They nodded. Your eyes widened. 

“Seriously? Nothing?” They shrugged. “Fair enough I guess. After all of this time, I wouldn’t be surprised either.” They flinched, guard up immediately. You shook your head, trying to look at ease as you flopped onto the ground again.  
“No judgment dude. This is a new run.” They obviously didn’t believe you. You rubbed at your face, feeling exasperated. Why will nobody get it? “You have a clean slate kid. You’ve shown me that you deserve one. No harm, no foul. I place my judgment seriously. I wouldn’t trust you if I didn’t. Chara either. Or Sans.” Chara looked at you, surprised. 

*You trust me?*

“And Sans?”

“Yeah. You haven’t really done anything yet for me not to, so…”

You trailed off, suddenly feeling the absence of the SOULS. Where were they? You looked around. “Have you seen any glowing figures lately? Other than Chara?” They shook their head. You groaned and made to get up when six flashed of colored light streaked from the area Frisk had come from. The SOULS were there, panting. Bravery carried Perseverance bridal style, not breaking a sweat. Their glasses were askew, and Kindness waved. 

^Hello again!^ 

-Sorry, we wanted to meet the human.-

Frisk looked around. “Where are those voices coming from?” They looked towards Frisk, in curiosity. Chara thought for a minute as the human floundered, looking around for the source of the sound. Chara reached over and put a hand on Kindness’s shoulder. They flowed into reality and waved at the flabbergasted human. 

^Heya!^

Frisk stumbled backward, astonished at the SOUL. Chara smirked at them, hand still on the other’s shoulder. 

*Slow your roll partner. This here is Kindness.*

Frisk looked at the SOUL, wary. “Nice to meet you?” The other apparition smiled. They put Chara’s hand on Bravery’s. They did an air fist pump and adjusted their bandana. Kindness disappeared from Frisk’s point of view. Chara huffed. 

*This is so slow.* They said and sucked in a breath to steady themself from what they werew about to do. They grouped the others together with a few hand motions, and wrapped them all in a hug. Patience squirmed but relented. Perseverance was trying to write as they were hugged. Frisk looked at them all, eyes wide. 

“Wow.”

You waved at them in one sweeping motion. “You see why I never have any peace and quiet, with all of them in my head.”

Frisk nodded. “And I thought Chara was annoying.”

*Hey!*

Patience disappeared with a flash of light blue light, not unlike Sans’s teleport. 

=Sorry. I don’t have the perseverance to last that long in an enclosed space.=

Integrity followed. -And I don’t like fighting.-

Chara released the others, and they disappeared back into your head, except for Kindness. 

^It was nice meeting you!^

Then they followed the others into your mind. Chara floated back to Frisk. The stood there, in stunned silence. 

“Wow.” They flopped next to you. The two of you sat there in a comfortable silence for a while.

\-------

Alphys woke up. She looked at her phone. 10:27?! She bolted out of her chair, the fluffy blanket falling to the ground. Oh. It seems that Corsiva has gone out of the lab and put it on her. She put it around her shoulders. Well, at least it was warm and fluffy. She looked at the reminders on her phone- she had to check up on some tests. 

I wonder if Borealis is around for a check-up? Or at least a stat-check.

She hurried out of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I have the time to only post one chapter right now, I'm so sorry, but I will probably post another later in the week; maybe around Wednesday my time or something. Almost done with the first arc! Only two more chapters or so to go!  
> You guys all have a good one; know that you are worth something to someone, even if you don't feel that way.  
> Sorry if that was OOC, but I just felt like that was something to say.
> 
> Oh- and for Sans- he has this psychological thing called learned helplessness, it's fascinating- here's a link if you want to learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness  
> I thought it explained it pretty well, and you will be able to see what toll this will take on him mentally in another arc or so. 
> 
> Have a good week guys! Stay awesome, and thanks for reading!


	13. The Promise

You had apparently drifted off or something, because you realized Frisk was gone. In their place was Alphys, who was reading a colorful manga. You cleared your throat. She looked up. 

“H-hello! S-sorry if I d-disturbed you or anything, I c-can leave, but my sensors showed that you h-had come by the Lab, and I was w-wondering if I could take a look at your stats? M-maybe run a few tests? I-if you want, that is.”

You looked at your blank wrist, then back at Alphys. “I’ve got nothing. Might as well get something productive done.” The two of you stood up to head towards the building. Alphys led the way, and you followed her into the cleaned up lab. You went into another corridor. You could faintly remember this when Undyne transported you to the castle. You went into a room rather close to the door. It was small, but all there was in it was a computer, a camera, and an X on the floor with red tape. She went behind the monitor, and you stood on the X. 

There was a bright yellow light as your soul was drawn out. It was white, like any monster soul, and a menu popped up next to it. It was backwards, but you could roughly guess what it read. 

 

Borealis  
HP: 138/140 ATK: 7 DEF: 7 LV: 1/4 EXP: 1 INV: 7   
A massive nerd with a curiosity streak the size of one of Undyne’s spears. Likes science, history, and art.

 

That was a lot of information. And HP.

“What do those numbers mean? HP, ATK, DEF, EXP, INV, that kind of stuff.”

Alphys looked around the keyboard. “W-well, they have a lot of different meanings. HP, also known as Health Points or HoPe, shows b-both your will to live, and how m-much it would take to break that w-will. ATK or AT, known as A-Attack or Ability To Continue. Continue obviously d-doesn’t start with a K, but the two were m-mashed together over the y-years. DEF is Defence, showing how much it t-takes before you can get hurt, either p-physically or emotionally. LV is also known as LOVE, but is mostly known as Level Of ViolencE. It is how much you have hurt others, and is proof that monsters r-really like acronyms. EXP is Experience, and it is debated whether it is how much o-others have hurt you, or if a certain amount of EXP equals one LV. The more LV and EXP one has, the less g-guilt you feel over hurting someone. There is a LV max, which is how m-much you could bring yourself to hurt somebody, even if you have killed before. INV is Invulnerability, or kind of like an e-emotional armour. It is mostly made of forgiveness, but can also be made of emotional d-detachment. You most likely h-have the first one, because you have such a low EXP and LV.” 

“Huh.” You were inturrupted by a weird noise. It was kinda like a mixture between a suction cup and a leaky tap. To both of your horror, a large monochromatic amalgamate shuffled into the room. Alphys’s eyes were wide as she went in front of Borealis.

“G-go b-back t-to th-the oth-thers E-Endogeny.” She was trembling. You reached around her and gave it a curious pat. Your hand sunk into the gooey substance, but you somehow managed to rub its shoulder.

“Hey buddy.” 

Alphys stared at you. “S-seriously?” she sighed, and left the room. She came back with a massive bowl full of dog food, which the Amalgamate somehow absorbed. They huffed, wined, then shuffled off on their multitude of legs. Alphys stared at you. “D-did you seriously just see an u-unknown Amalgamation of a monster and s-say hi without any information?”

You shrugged. “They gave me no reason not to.” Alphys shook her head as she looked at the sheet of paper coming out of the printer.   
“Y-you have a lot of code here- w-wait a minute- this c-can’t be right-”

“What?” You came over and looked over her shoulder. The image of your soul had been turned into a chart that looked quite like a thermal camera, but instead of temperatures it was virtues. The other virtues were splotched and random, but the Determination had formed a specific shape- a flower.   
“H-how?”

“Where did you get the Determination?” 

“F-from some samples a-around the lab-”

“Oh.”

“W-what?”

“The first human that fell, Chara, maybe they tried to help by letting the previous Royal Scientist take some DT samples? Ya know, before they died?”

“M-maybe… Actually, th-that could work. L-let me see-”

She ran off and you could hear the shuffling of papers being flung out of file cabinets. She was rummaging for a few minutes, so you brought out Quinn to play with and looked at a couple of textbooks on one of the filing cabinets. Monster Mechanics 256- 20WG Edition. After a few minutes, Alphys came in, and promptly dropped her papers. 

“W-What is t-that!” 

You made to say something, but Quinn beat you to the punch, breathing out a lick of blue flame like a dragon and a whining noise like a dog. You replaced the book.  
“This is Quinn.”

“O-Oh.” She hesitantly reached out a hand, and meeped when Quinn burrowed her muzzle under it. 

The three of you were broken out of your reverie by the sound of a doorbell. Alphys stuttered a bit.

“U-uh.. I-I’d b-better go get th-that. Y-You can s-stay if you want, b-but you don’t h-have to.” 

She left the room. You followed her, dissipating Quinn. As she went to answer the door, you left out of the other entrance. Suddenly, you were shocked to see a white shape blur past you. You looked at it as it whizzed by. To your shock, Papyrus was riding a Blaster of his own, scarf flying out behind him. Quinn appeared without your control, and nudged you. You looked at them. 

“Seriously?!” They nudged you again. You sighed, and clambered onto your friend. They didn’t give you much pause before zipping off towards Papyrus and his noble steed. You gripped Quinn’s crest as hot air rushed past you. You looked back. You saw a smaller Blaster nearer to the ground, Sans lazily atop it. He waved, and swigged some ketchup, acting as if this was an everyday occurrence. His Blaster rolled it’s eyes. Quinn suddenly sped up, forcing you to look ahead and adjust your grip to not fall off. 

You were slowly gaining on Papyrus, and you had enough time to wonder. How the heck did I get roped into this? He hadn’t noticed you yet, and was focused on the course ahead. This was actually kinda fun, however. You noticed something out of the corner of your eye as you zipped around the Underground. Frisk was walking down a long purple pathway below, towards a large door. The city could be seen in the distance, and they looked out towards the people they would try to save. You nudged Quinn. They saw what you did, and swooped down to land a few meters behind them. You dismounted, and they dissipated into magic. You walked up next to them, looking out over the cavernous expanse. 

“Pretty, huh?” They jumped, and nodded once they realized it was you. You looked across to them, being about eye level without having to do anything. You grinned at them. “Ya ready?” They nodded. You shrugged. “I’m gonna spare ya the details. You’ve probably heard this before. The fact is-”

“I haven’t heard this before.” Their voice was quiet, the melody in the background almost overshadowing their words. You stared at them. 

“Really?” You were shocked. Did this mean-.

“You aren’t present in any other timelines. I’m sorry.” You blinked a few times in shock. 

“So I have no airbag if something goes wrong that requires a TRUE RESET?” 

They shook their head. You blinked a few more times. “Okay then.” You clasped your hands together, thinking frantically. Time to formulate a plan. “That’s fine, that’s okay, that’s snazzy. I can do that.” You rubbed your hands together and started to pace a bit, talking quickly, no- frantically. “Not the best scenario, but I can work with that. I’ll just make the best of the time I have, and-” Frisk grasped your arm. 

“I’ll find a way.” You shook your head. 

“I can’t ask you to do that for me, Frisk. When my time is up, I’ll just go-”

Frisk shook their head again, cutting you off. “I’ll find a way. You’re my friend too. I’ll SAVE everyone.” You wanted to protest, but the look in their eyes stopped you. You sighed, rubbing your eyes with your hands, pushing up your glasses and turning away from the human. 

“Do what you want Frisk, but I’m keeping that as a second option. When I die, I die. It’s okay. I don’t really fear death, but-” They spun you around. This was the closest they had gotten to being angry. They stared deep into your surprised eyes. 

“I won’t let that happen Borealis. I. Will. Save. You. Too.” You faltered under their gaze. 

“Okay.” 

“I promise.”

They headed out towards the Hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blaster Riding should be a thing. Like- imagine a monster version of the Olympics. One of the sports? Blaster Riding. 
> 
> Anyways, have a great day and thanks for reading! i have no freaking idea how this got so popular. Thank you!


	14. Shatter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy Magikarp End of Arc #1! Woohoo!  
> Hope you enjoy!

You followed them into the Judgement hall, hiding behind a pillar so you could see the action. Frisk walked in, and Sans appeared. He looked like he didn’t give a crap, he had done this so many times in a row.

“heya kid. nice to see ya. now, i’m just gonna breeze over this shtick, ‘cause you’ve heard this so many times in a row- and we’re a bit short on time ‘cause you were hanging around out there. borealis probably knows it too… let’s see here- ‘you never gained love, but you gained love’, blah blah blah,’you just kept a certain tenderness in your heart’ blah blah. go on through ya nerd. i’m rooting for ya.”

Frisk blinked a few times in surprise, but nodded at him and winked, shooting a few finger guns as they walked forwards. He winked back and disappeared. They went through the door at the end of the hall. You were going to follow, but something told you to wait. You sat on the floor, and tried to communicate with the SOULS, who had been silent for a long time. 

*But nobody came. 

You tried again.

*But nobody came. 

You felt nervous, but you knew that something was off- like they had been forcibly removed. Your stomach clenched. Something was terribly wrong. You tried using their real names. Joan? Melo? Alex?

*But nobody came. 

You felt restless. You stood up in the shadow of the column. Suddenly, Undyne ran through, sprinting like she was running a 200. A few seconds later, Alphys puffed through, although much slower, with her having short legs and all. Papyrus ran through as well, scarf streaming behind him. He was on the phone. Sans appeared after he had left, turning off his phone with a sigh. He walked through the door. After a few minutes, a crowd hustled in- Muffet, Vulcan, and more jostling through. You decided to join them. You went through the flowered throne room to see Asgore and the Human, along with another goatlike monster, possibly the missing Queen. Flowey looked annoyed, but then he smiled the biggest grin you had ever seen from him. His high pitched voice echoed over you, and you arrived to hear the end of his speech.

“-STUPID! All of your friends’ SOULS are MINE!” He laughed maniacally. 

There was a blinding flash of light, and then you didn’t see anything. 

 

All you saw was blackness. However, white outlines swam into your vision. Stars, Flowers, Alphys and Undyne. The Queen and Asgore. A human not unlike Frisk-no, Chara, lying on the ground, probably after their fall. A statue with an umbrella. A faint tune rang through the back of your mind. You saw a red SOUL. Frisk. You heard your name.

“Borealis! Can you hear me?! Borealis! I can SAVE you!”  
You didn’t feel right- who was Borealis? The name seemed familiar but- you heard the words “promise” float around you. Something crawled in the back of your subconscious.  
“I don’t know anymore. I’m just going to be a word in a book somewhere.” The words fell from your mouth. The vibrant SOUL pulsed. The words that surrounded you hit like bricks.

‘Mistake.’

‘Replaceable’

‘You don’t deserve a happy ending, much less another chance.’

‘You-’

They were cut off as a clear voice brushed them away.

“You matter! At least to me.” 

The memories came flooding back. Your flames crackled. 

“Heya Frisk. Thanks for giving me a new slate, okay?”

You felt them smile.

“You never needed one.”

The blackness was pushed out by a wave of white.

 

You came to, sitting up in the dark, hand raised to a splitting headache. 

“Ow ow ow ow ow…” You muttered, looking around you. There was a group of people crowded over a body lying on a patch of grass. It was Frisk. You rushed forward. “What happened?! Are they-” 

The goat person across from the king shook her head, not raising up from her crouch by the human. 

“They are fine, thank you. They just seem to be asleep.” Her brows furrowed. “I hope.” You tried to smile. 

“I’m sure they’ve faced worse. They do seem to be fine though.” You were just finishing as they shifted, groaning a little. 

“My child!” The Queen rested a hand on their head, the hand glowing a faint green. “Are you okay?” Frisk opened their eyes, surprised to see everyone crowded around them.

“Hey Goat Mom.” They got up to a sitting position. “So the barrier is broken?” 

Papyrus nodded. “YES HUMAN! WHEN WE WOKE UP, IT HAD SHATTERED! IT SEEMS THAT FLOWERY HAS HELPED TO FREE US!” Sans looked like he wanted to correct him, but he just rolled his eyelights in your direction. Frisk stood up, brushing some grass off of their shorts. They knelt down to adjust the laces on their trainers. You leaned against the cavern wall, looking over at the group. They looked so happy. You smiled, looking at them. You took the time to look around. It appeared that the other monsters- Muffet, Greater Dog, ect.- had gone back through the throne room. The room was darker without the Barrier, so you conjured a few fireballs absentmindedly. You looked around. Where was Flowey? 

You saw a small glimpse of yellow. You looked around a rocky corner. You saw a flash of white, green, and yellow before the colors were replaced with the petals of golden flowers. Buried in the gentle petals of gold was a similar plant-looking monster. It was Flowey. And he was crying, looking at a slightly tarnished heart-shaped locket wrapped around a vine. You watched in silence as the vine wrapped around the locket protectively, then both it and Flowey disappeared into the ground, leaving behind nothing but a discarded golden blanket upon the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the end of Arc #1! I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for continuing this journey with me- I never imagined that so many people would read and experience my work. Thank You!  
> PS: How about that recent Sanders Sides video? They're really jamming all they can into these last few weeks. *Snicker* Anyway, I can't wait for that Roman Arc! Sorry if you are from the future/ haven't seen the video yet and know nothing about what I'm talking about.  
> As always- have a great day and stay DETERMINED!


	15. Ranger Danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I completely forgot to post this yesterday! I'm so sorry! However, I hope you enjoy the surface!

You walked back towards the others, mulling over what you had seen in your mind. They had disappeared from what had been the Barrier Room, so you climbed out of the cave that Monsters had been forced into all those years ago. Generations had passed, all with the hope of eventually seeing the surface. As you stood on the beautiful sunlit ridge, you breathed in the bright, crisp, air. Your attention was grabbed by a gleeful shout from Papyrus. 

“THEY REALLY ARE FALLING FOR ME SANS! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! I’M FINALLY POPULAR!”

You could only imagine what happened. You ran down the sandstone slopes, hoping that everyone involved was okay. You ran where the sound was coming from- a sturdily built ranger station. You opened the door to see the gang crowded into the small space, and a human slumped in a swivel chair, face white. You saw a cup of water on their desk. You put some on your gloved hand and started to pat their face with the wetness. They slowly came to. 

“Are you okay dude? You were passed out for at least a few minutes before I got here.” Their eyes focused on you, and they jolted out of their chair. 

“Holy- Who are you? What are you people?” He looked closer at you. “How can you be made of fire? The others I can understand somewhat, except for those skeletons, but wouldn’t that burn you? I can feel the heat from here.” 

You and Sans smirked in unison. “Magic.” 

You looked at the ranger. “But seriously. We are self classified as ‘Monsters’, so our bodies are mostly made of magic. Very little physical matter to harm, so I’m fine. That’s also how their bones stick together.” You said, waving a hand towards the skeletons in question. “We produce a small magic field from our cores, which we call SOULS, which is how the particles of physical matter stick together. It’s like a magnetic field, but made of magic. Does that make sense? I can re-explain it if it doesn’t.” They looked less pale, and had their head resting on their chin, contemplating. 

“So you guys are basically atoms suspended by magic instead of normal Covelant and Ionic bonds. Can you do anything other than that? Like fireballs or something? How would that work?” 

You smiled. This was going quite well. “Basically, we can have minor control over those magic fields, and can form things out of magical versions of what you call atoms. These things are usually individual to the monster, but can be weapons, fireballs, pellets, bones, ect. There are also specific attributes that can affect these magical formations, usually shown by a change in colour. For example, if I form a green fireball, it has minor healing abilities. If one of us throws a, say, a blue bone or something at you in a defensive situation, the only way to not get affected is to stand still. The opposite goes for orange formations, so on and so forth. Magic can also temporarily change the opponent’s core, giving it special limitations or advantages. If one of us turned your core green, for example, you would have a shield to defend yourself from any attacks.”

The ranger was writing some of it down on a notepad. Sans just stared at you, looking for some kind of notecards or something.

“So because you are made of magic, you have abilities with that magic. Do humans have magic, or not because we are not made of magic?”

Toriel joined in at this point. “Humans used to have magic, which is how we were trapped Underground, but that was in a time where there was cohabitation between the two races. After the War-” 

“There was a war? What was the Underground like?”

“the underground was a giant cave system, closed off by a magical field that we called the barrier. it was cast thousands of years ago by seven of humanity’s greatest magicians, who perished in the effort. over the years, seven humans fell into the underground by a hole in the ruins, one of the cities we formed down there, and they eventually perished by natural causes. One by eating poisonous flowers, one by drowning in the natural rivers, one by heat exposure near the volcanic lava chamber under the mountain, one by blood loss who was found by our king right before they died and succumbed to their injuries, one by a mechanical malfunction, one by starvation, and one by freezing outside of one of our colder areas. we were forced to use the energy left by their cores to contribute in breaking the barrier, because they had the right kind of magical energy that couldn’t be replicated no matter how many experiments we preformed. we had a ruling system, a royal guard, currency, a royal scientist, stable jobs, agriculture, and a bunch of other stuff. we just didn’t have the sun. we worked off of trash thrown down the river, and basically built a recycled city out of human stuff that was thought to be useless.”

“Wow.”

“YES! WE DID MANAGE TO MAKE THE BEST OF WHAT WAS GIVEN TO US!”

“So you guys need to basically be rediscovered again? That will be a long and complicated process. If I were you, I’d try to get citizenship as son as possible before anything else. Then you can get judicial help and vote and stuff. Do you have an ambassador or anything yet?”

The queen nodded, and wrapped an arm around Frisk. “This is our ambassador, Frisk.”  
They waved. “Heya, I’m Frisk. This is Toriel, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Asgore, and Borealis. What is your name?” They stuck out a hand. 

“I am Alfred Mane, but you can call me Alfred if you want. Or Al. Or Mr. Mane. I don’t particularly care. I’m the lead Ranger for Mount Ebbot, and I can do my best to help you if you wish for assistance. I have a lot of friends in different fields, from real estate to politics, so I can give you my number if you want it.” He started to rummage through one of the drawers on his desk, fishing out a card. Frisk pocketed it. 

“Thank you Al. We do really appreciate this, even if it did start out a bit rough. Do you have any ideas on where we should stay until we can get the politics sorted out? Maybe a hotel or something? And where we can convert our currency to money?”

“I can see what I can do. What was your currency?”

“Gold.”

He goggled. “You guys definitely won’t have any problems with money then, if it’s 100%. It’s about $1400.00 per troy ounce right now to the nearest thousand, so about $224.00 per pound, if I’m doing the math right. I’m assuming here that you have a lot of gold, so the rounding doesn’t matter very much in the grand scheme of things.” 

“wow.” 

“THAT’S A LOT OF MONEY!” 

He stood up, rubbing his hands together. 

“Let’s get you settled, shall we?”

 

\-----------

How the heck did she know that?! That was advanced monster mechanics right there. Huh. Must have found a textbook or something. Weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said in the beginning, I'm super sorry about forgetting it yesterday. And, along with those posting changes, I will henceforth be posting one chapter a week. I will try to post on Sundays, but if I posted a really short chapter I may post on Wednesdays as well so you guys have a lot to read! Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate it a lot, and if you want to go say hi or something you can visit my tumblr @ https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42. I post art and random theories sometimes, and yeah. That's all the shameless plug I can throw at you. Visit if you want, sorry for the delay, and thank you for reading! Have a great day/night/rest of your existance, and thanks again!


	16. Momentos

Today was the day.

They stood in city hall. A couple of cell phone cameras flashed as they signed the final documents, Papyrus recording it for their social medias. There was a electronic sound as a couple of cards shot out of a machine, and the lady behind the desk handed them to their owners, perfume wafting off with every action and her massive blond ringlets bouncing. 

“Thank you, and have a nice day.” 

They each clutched the cards like a lifeline, the separate folders with the copied documents in a portfolio in Frisk’s hand. They walked out of the building, returning to their cars.

 

They drove to the larger house granted to them while the legal matters were being settled. Asgore was trimming one of the bushes, having gotten his citizenship card a few days before along with Frisk, who had just come this time to supervise. Borealis, who had just come from school to do some extra-curricular classes, went up to her room to dump off her bag. Toriel started a butterscotch-cinnamon pie, to the happiness of everyone else. Frisk dumped off the paperwork in their room and changed into some more comfortable clothing before seeing what Asgore was doing. 

They all rushed out when Frisk squealed. To their surprise, Flowey was there, looking like he regreted all of his choices and trying to sneak back underground. Frisk ran to Asgore to ask for a pot. Flowey looked terrified. Before he could burrow, Sans picked up the Flower, along with the ground around him, with blue magic. The flower stuck out his tongue at the skeleton. Sans winked his right eye. Frisk brought back a medium sized pot, placing the flower inside with a smile. 

“It’s nice to see you Flowey.” 

He sighed, grumbling something. “Yeah yeah yeah. Nice to have some company after this long anyway.” Frisk grinned wider at that. They all trouped inside, except for you. You looked in the hole Flowey had been in, curious. To your surprise, there was a small glint of gold at the bottom. You drew out the locket you had seen when the barrier broke. You smiled, then put it in your pocket to give to him later. You went inside, both pie and homework calling your name. 

 

\-----

 

You closed your notebook, reaching for the plate of delicious pie. Finally. You liked to read, science high on the list, but theoretical spacetime physics was super complex. You closed the textbook. Maybe Sans could help. He had a PhD. Or two. Or three. All in science. A degree in music theory for some reason too. Working on being a Lawyer. Speaking of music…. 

You looked at the violin in the corner. You had gotten it as soon as you had a spot for it, if only because you liked the sound. You swapped gloves. Out go the thick heat-insulating ones, in with the super magic ones so you could play and not damage the instrument. You had Toriel enchant them for you with ‘ancient magic’. So worth the cost of the high tech gloves. You stretched your fingers, then grasped the bow, rosined it, and raised the instrument to your shoulder. You closed your eyes, envisioning the song, envisioning the strings. 

E- G- A- D-

E- G- A- D-

A-E-

A-D-G-E-A-D-G-E-A

E-

You were cut off as Frisk knocked on the door. You quickly wiped down the bow as you called.

“Come in!”

They came in as you put away your violin, closing the door behind them. You had practiced earlier that day anyway, and you needed to write down the notes. They waited as you scribbled them on a sticky note. You switched gloves.

“Yeah Frisk?” You gestured to your bed. They sat. 

“What do you think of A-Flowey?” 

“You don’t need to say Flowey dude. I know.” You took out the locket. “He left this in the hole earlier. Thought you might want to give it to him.” They took it gingerly, fingering the filigree. 

“Best Friends Forever.” They sounded sad. 

“Yeah.” You stepped around the room, picking up a shoebox on a shelf. You brought it down, and opened it. Inside were small momentos. A golden bone from Papyrus. A shell from the time you all went to the beach. You were forced to sit in a chair the whole time so you didn't melt the sand if you went barefoot, but you did have a few cool handmade glass paperweights from when you picked up some sand without your gloves on. A crystal piece from when you helped Undyne move her piano and she chucked a spear at the ceiling and it cracked off and narrowly missed your head. A few G you still had that you found under a snowpoff one day as you helped Grillby pack up his bar. A plethora of photos, and a camera. You took out the camera. 

“Do you have anything else to talk about? I kinda want to take a picture of a disgruntled Flowey in a pot. Maybe add a ribbon or something to it. You want to help?” 

Frisk snickered. They clasped their hands around the locket. “I have that faded ribbon from the Underground still. I usually use it as a bookmark, but that would be fun.” 

You smirked. “Yep.” You set the box on your desk, leaving the lid off. “So anything else ya want to say? I like Flowey more than I did; he was worse, but now he’s more rambunctious than evil.” 

Frisk nodded. “Thanks. I won’t make him stay here if there are people who have a huge problem with him. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them, even if I want to give Flowey a second chance up here.” You gave them a thumbs up. 

“All the better to ya. Good luck with him. I’m sure he’ll come around.” You raised the camera. “Want to troll him?” 

They smiled mischievously. “Sure. One picture can’t hurt.” 

 

 

The angry flower’s screaming lasted for more than half an hour. You added another couple of pictures to your box. And acquired some earplugs.

\--Flashback--

 

The eight of you crowded by the cars. Toriel smiled, and hefted the beach bag. Undyne roared a battle cry and ran across the sand, diving into the water. You carried the cooler full of food and a beach chair. Asgore walked out to the sand and started to help Frisk build a sandcastle. Alphys started to sun on the sand, eventually falling asleep. Sans took out a book and flopped on a towel, drinking some ketchup. Papyrus ran out to join Undyne, trailing a couple of pairs of dollar store sunglasses that toppled off of his shoulders. You chilled under an umbrella, drinking some water and reading Dracula. Toriel joined Frisk and Asgore, which eventually turned into a friendly castle building competition. 

You took out one of Muffet’s new donuts, webbing shimmering on the top. You took a bite, the blackberry filling giving it a delectable taste. You went back to your book. Then you shivered and froze.

Something felt wrong. You felt a sense of deja-vu. You looked around, and saw a few figures with odd mannerisms. They were both talking on their phones, which wouldn’t be that out of place, but it seemed their conversations were lining up. You sent a text to Sans.

 

Aroura: Hey Sans, you see those guys over there?  
Snas: the two wannabe spies?  
Aroura: Yeah, those ones. I’m getting some kind of deja-vu or something- it only happened when they showed up.  
Snas: i can text the kid, see if they loaded a save.  
Aroura: I don’t know if we need to do that, but just keep an eye on them. We can ask them later, when we go home.  
Snas: ok.

 

The two of you kept an eye of them for the rest of the day until it was time to leave. You passed the time reading, which was great, and experimenting with creating glass sculptures. It was soon time to go.

However, as you were about to join your friends, your eye was caught by a shell sticking out from the sand. You pulled it out, and saw that it was a conch. You put it to your ear hesitantly, wondering how it would interact to heat. 

You jerked away as you heard the sound of waves. You smiled, and put it into your hoodie pocket. 

You ran towards the others, and gathered your stuff. You went home, and you deposited the shell into your shoebox, watching the sun sink into the west.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you're having a decent weekend, or at least that having something to read made it better! Finals time is approaching. Yay. But hey, such is life! This was originally two chapters, but the other one was one page, so I put them together! If you guys don't like the violin stuff tell me- I can edit it out of the following chapters if you don't- I'm not really attached to it either way so it's fine if you'd prefer to have it taken out of any future chapters. I just really like the violin and I'm a total noob so I can't put in the proper notes and have to compensate with what strings I thing would be the best... =^._.^=  
> Have a great day!


	17. A Poem....

There was a strange feeling in the air,  
Almost a whisper, faint and fair.  
The lives it told were at stake.  
Because of the future you tried to make

 

A comic book angel,   
A self-perceived weight.   
A princely mask.  
A changer of fate.   
A coffee bean.   
A slippery snake.  
A repentant shadow.   
A Puppetmaster.   
A Moral Compass.   
A Green Bean.   
A Coffee’s best friend.  
And the man who speaks in hands… 

 

What will you do?  
MERCY of FIGHT?  
What can you do to make things right?

 

Everyone you love.  
Everyone you’ve SAVED.  
Can you free them?   
Or will they become slaves?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was so short but I:  
> 1) Had to add a filler to make the chapters work because I stuck two together.  
> and  
> 2) Wanted to add some foreshadowing to this story because what is to come is super interesting. This probably won't happen again.
> 
> I'm posting another chapter this week so I'll either do it later today or Wednesday. Finals are coming up and I have to do so much work it's not even funny. Anyway.... Have a great day and thanks for reading! Have a great week, and I hope you guys appreciate this! I look forward to posting it every week, so I hope you enjoy it too. Thanks!


	18. Just Violin Stuff..... Maybe

You were done with all of your finals. Finally. You actually had time to play the violin for once. You did your violin routine- switching gloves, roisin, closing your eyes- and you began to play your heart out. 

E- D- A- G--

E- D- A- G--

A-E--

A-G-D-E-A-G-D-E-A-

E---

D-A-E-G-D-A-E-G-

D-A-E-G-D-A-E-G-

D-A-E-G-D-A-E-E-

A--

D--

G--

A--

E-G-D-A-E-D-E-G-A-E-G-D-A-E-

E-

You stopped, playing a blank. It seems that was all you needed for now. You decided to play some randomness that had been stuck in your head over and over instead, if only to annoy Flowey. 

 

A-A-A-E-

G-D-G-D-G-A-A-

A-A-A-E-

G-D-G-D-G-A-A-

A-A-A-E-

G-D-G-D-G-A-A-

A-A-A-E-

You heard a scream of rage. You smiled. You swapped into something else you had heard online. 

A-E-A-G-G-G-G-D-D-A-A-G-

G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-E-

A-A-A-A-G-G-G-G-D-D-A-A-G-

A-A-A-A-G-G-G-D-G-D-A-

G-D-G-D-G-D-G-D-G-G-A-

A-E-A-G-D-G-D-G-D-A-G-

A-E-A-G-D-G-D-G-D-G-E-

A-E-A---G-G-D--

G--G--G--A---

A--A--A--E---

G-G-G-G-D--

D-D-D-G-- A-A-E-- 

E-E-A--

A-A-G-  
G-G-D--

D-D-G--

 

You were cut off as Sans started to practice his trombone from down the hall. You sighed, and decided to go outside to practice, picking up your case. 

In the hall, you ran into Frisk, who was listening to music. They waved, then seemed to remember something. They paused their music, then gestured for you to come into their room. You followed. 

Their room was small- it had a bed with red trim. The pillows were rainbow coloured, and there was a flower plushie. There were knick-knacks on the shelves, and a bookcase. Their dresser held an alarm clock and a lamp; the desk was covered in papers, one area clearly political- it had a filing system. Their schoolbag rested on a beanbag, and Flowey sat on the windowsill, a light red ribbon tied around it. He looked at you as the two of you came in.

“Hey, it’s the Dumpster.”

“Hey Flower Power.”

“Hi Flowey.”

He grumbled, and turned to look out the window. A book was propped next to him, the pages open to a picture of a knight in shining armor. You faced Frisk. “So what did you want to talk about?” They wrung their hands, which seemed to calm them down. 

“Have you heard anything from the SOULS since the Barrier broke?” 

You shook your head. “I haven’t heard from them since- I don’t know- when we all talked in Hotland? It was quite a long time ago. It’s kind of sad- I never really said goodbye.” 

“Who would want to talk to you?” Flowey snarked. Frisk sprayed him with a water bottle absentmindedly. He sputtered. “Hey!”

“I still have communication with Chara… I wonder- maybe they disappeared because they were-” They cut themselves of, biting their lip. 

“Were they stolen?” Frisk nodded, and pointed at Flowey. You raised your brows and looked at the flower. “You actually did something productive Flowey? I’m impressed.” Frisk swatted you on the arm. They probably would’ve sprayed you, but that would have caused major injuries.

You huffed. “So that’s what happened to them… What about why they’re gone? Where are they now?” Could this be about the NMC?

Frisk looked nervous. “It’s something Toriel authorized as soon as Alphys set up the lab up here- its better if I showed you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was so short, but I figured that since there were two short chapters I'd put them together. So.... here you go! I hope you enjoyed, and there is some fun stuff in the works for around chapter 45- I hope you enjoy those shenanigans when they come.  
> I hope you enjoyed and have a great day! Thanks for reading!


	19. Motherly Love

Frisk led you through the spotless halls of the New Lab, after ignoring the picket signs of the No Monster Campaign and signing in on the list guarded by a fluffy pomeranian. They came to a door, marked with nothing but a green heart. It couldn’t be- “Joan is here?! Why? How? What did Toriel authorize?” Frisk said nothing, just pushed open the door.

Inside, there was a basic bedroom. A white bed with green covers, a plant flourishing on a desk, a bookshelf stocked with cooking books, an old pan hanging on the wall like a prize, and a form sitting in a beanbag. They looked up as the door closed. They were out of the chair in an instant, book falling to the floor.

^Borealis!^ They almost tackled you with a hug. You laughed a bit, and stumbled back a few steps.

“Joan! How are you? How did you get here, and like this!”

Joan had the look of a humanoid skeleton- no, it was as if their human skeleton had been reanimated. A grey beanie sat jauntily on their head, and they wore a green and blue striped sweater. Their old apron hang on a hook on the back of the door you had come though.

^They somehow brought me back! After my soul was stolen and released, I just hung around for a while, ‘cause I didn’t really have anywhere to be. I was captured by Toriel after she saw me, and after a while Alphys brought me back! Magic restored any decomposition to my bones, and I’m basically as good as new, if a bit see-through!^

You grinned at them. “Well it’s nice to see that you got a happy ending! Are the others here?”

Joan’s smile grew. ^Yup! They’re just over here, I can show you!^

They pulled open the door and walked down the hall. They knocked on a door marked with a yellow heart. ^Irik? Can we come in?^

A familiar voice answered. (If ya want!)

You went inside. This room had a very western theme, but the focal point was Irik, who was sitting on their bed.

(Borealis! It’s great to see you! I’ve been wondering where ya’ve been!) They looked the same as Joan with the skeletal remains, but was wearing a large brown hat and denim overalls, along with a yellow and red striped t-shirt. They shook your hand warmly. Irik was going to say something, but before they could another voice interrupted them.

~What is all this ruckus about? Are y’all fighting without me?~

Alex was standing in the doorway, hands on their hips. Their trusty bandana was on their skull, and the wrists of orange gloves stuck out of their front jeans pocket. They wore an orange and black striped muscle tee, an orange hoodie tied around their hips. They smiled when the two of you made eye contact. They rushed forwards and gave you a noogie from a headlock, apparently not even feeling the flames.

It appeared that Melo had heard the commotion and had wandered down the hall. They wore a light blue ribbon around their throat like a choker, and a light blue sweater with a white stripe down the middle. They wore black leggings, and were tugging on thick woolen socks on their feet. They waved at you shyly. Robin walked by, holding a donut. They raised their brow ridge. “Hello. It’s nice to see you.” They wore a dark blue t-shirt tunic, with a ruffle at the bottom and a pink stripe embroidered on with music notes in white. They bowed at you gracefully before munching on their donut.

Joan pulled you out through the mob, towards a door marked in purple, where Emi resided. They knocked and entered, glancing around the space littered with bookshelves and papers tacked to walls, connected with yarn and pushpins. Their trusty notebook sat on the nightstand. Emi glanced up from a massive armchair, reading a thick book. They stuck in a stickynote, and waved, long purple and blue sweater sleeves waving in the motion. You smiled, and Alphys walked in, followed by Toriel and Alphys. Frisk hugged them both.

“It’s nice to see you all here.” Toriel said, a motherly smile on their face. Alphys clutched a sheath of papers. Frisk led the way out of the room. You followed through the mob, curious. You came to a workroom, and saw quite a sight.

A skeleton about the size of Frisk was strapped to a table. They wore a green and yellow sweater, and a locket identical to the one Flowey had was around their neck. However, they were limp, unanimated. Frisk crowded around the skeleton, thinking intently. Chara appeared, for the first time since the Underground. They tried to fuse with their former body. Nothing happened. They turned to Frisk, frustrated. Frisk looked at Alphys.

“What was the original plan?”

Alphys stuttered a little. “U-Uh, l-let’s see h-here… We have the s-soul imprint m-method.”

Frisk nodded. “Let’s try that.”

Alphys scanned their SOUL with a device. Another, faded, greyer soul formed in a glass container, slowly gaining more colour. Chara disappeared in a surprised flash of red. The soul in the container pulsed once. Alphys opened the jar with a button. The soul floated towards the skeleton on the table. Red eyelights lit up their face, fading to white. Toriel undid the straps, pulling Chara into a fuzzy hug. Chara hesitantly returned the hug. Alphys’s cell phone rang. She stepped out of the room to answer.

Everyone kind of just stood there for a moment, before Frisk joined the hug. For the first time you had seen, Chara smiled. A true smile.

 

\-------------

 

You- you didn’t really feel quite the same as you used to saying that- walked down the halls like you did when you were alive, in long, lanky strides. You heard a commotion down one of the halls. You, following your instincts, entered. You heard laughter, and stuck in your skull, trying to maintain as stable as possible. You blinked in surprise as you saw a crowd of people in the room. While Alphys had told you not to socialize with guests… you hadn’t seen anyone in a while. So you shrugged your shoulders, took in a relaxing breath, and walked in, trying to not accidentally melt. You didn’t feel any extra Determination flowing, so you figured you were good.

You stuck to the shadows, hoping nobody noticed you. Of course, Alphys was the first to see you.

“N-no, no, Corsiva p-please, not with g-guests…” She walked towards you, and you sidestepped, eyes drawn to the children who looked so much like you. You steadied your hands enough to sign, your primary form of communication because your vocal cords were so unstable.

[Hello, I am C-O-R-S-I-V-A. It is nice to meet you.]

To your surprise, some of their faces brightened. One in a purple and blue sweater and one in a green and yellow sweater smiled in your direction.

*Hello Corsiva. My name is Chara.*

“Hi! I’m Frisk!”

You looked at the fAmiliar figure. Of course! This was the human you had tucked in while you were all Underground. That was when you had no control, just a humanoid, melty mass.

You felt yourself grin as you dodged Alphys again, who was now breaking into a sweat. You didn’t know why, you were the most stable after all, training yourself to control it most of the time. You turned to the lizard and bent down, whispering into her ear as much as you could. You usually didn’t talk after all.

[Alphys, Alphys. It’s fine. They all know about the others anyway. They weren’t surprised to see me after all. Calm down.]

You looked deep into her eyes, hoping she would understand. She didn’t, pulling you away by the hand so you couldn’t sign. You let out a noise of exasperation, and melted your arm enough to get free. You were Determined to have some basic communication after all. You moved back as she grasped empty air, and turned towards the others, trying your best to not melt more.

[Hello. It is nice to see a few new faces, along with some old ones, even if you do not really recognize me.]

Toriel made a face of realization. “Oh! Hello again! It is nice to meet you again after so long.” She gestured to a few of the other skeletons. “These are the fallen children, including Chara and the latest, Frisk. We-”

She was cut off as a small sniffle was heard. Frisk looked at the bag they had on their back in shock. Chara opened it, pulling out Flowey.

“A-Flowey? What are you doing here?” The one made out of fire said in surprise, looking taken aback at the teary flower.

“Y-you got t-to have y-your happy e-ending C-Chara.” He managed to say in between his tears before openly sobbing.

*You can have a happy ending too.* They said, hugging the pot and looking at Alphys in hope.

The lizard stuttered a bit, then fell silent.

You stepped out of the room to hide the purple and green tears that were falling from your eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great day, and I'll probably post another chapter this week, with all of the free time I have between studying for finals. Thank you for reading!  
> Feel free to say hello and comment below! I love to talk with you guys, so feel free to give me feedback and ask me questions!
> 
> Have a great day and stay DETERMINED amidst the bad things happening in the world. Find the goodness if you can. I believe in you!


	20. Never Gonna Give You Up....

Chara moved into one of the guest rooms, offering Flowey the window. To everyone’s surprise, he declined. Then he suggested a compromise after seeing the look on their face.

“I don’t wanna mess something up. Maybe we can switch off with Frisk? I’m with you half the week, Frisk the other half?” 

Chara nodded after thinking a bit. Then they ran off, Flowey in arms, to talk to Frisk. You smiled, and went off to practice your violin. Suddenly, you recieved a text from Papyrus, putting you into a group chat with an unknown number.

 

Paps: METTA AND I WISHED TO INFORM YOU THAT WE WILL BE COMING ROUND TOGETHER WITH GREAT NEWS! 

Frisk: Ok ya lovebirds!

XXY-ZEB-YYOF: Ok =)

You added the number as Chara.

Goat Mom: Okay you two! I will make a pie! <3 

You silently cheered. 

snas: what’s the big news?

Alph: Yes! Tell us!

Fishsticks: Yeah ya punks! I’m throwing spears with anticipation!

You looked up, and saw a spear flying out of the house across the street where the two lived. Oh joy. 

You: Undyne, stop throwing spears at our neighbors, they still want to sue you after you hit their windshield.

Alph: The lamp! Oh, and yeah. 

FlowerPower: Whatcha talking about? 

The chat was silent for a few minutes. 

snas: your impending doom. [Link: audio]

You heard a trombone from down the hall. 

Paps: SANS! STOP PLAGUING MY GROUP CHAT WITH INCEDENTAL LYRICS!

snas: ok. [Link: audio]

Paps: SANS!

 

The chat ended. You smiled, and went to practice your violin, using one of Mettaton’s new songs as a guide. 

 

G-G-A-G--  
G-G-G-A-G--

D-D-G-D--  
D-D-D-G-D--

A------A--A--E------  
E---E---A----

Then the phone chimed. 

TinCan: Do I hear my wonderful music?! 

You looked up from your phone to the open window. Dang it. 

You: Uh- maybe? 

TinCan: Then come down darling and play!

You groaned softly and picked up your violin. 

“...”

You went down the hall and descended the stairs. 

“...”

You stood in front of Mettaton. You raised your bow…

And started to play Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up. Sans fell out of his chair with silent laughter. 

 

A-A-A-A-E-A-E--

A-A-A-A-G-A-G--

A-A-A-A-E-A-A-G-D-G-A--

 

You were cut off by a teary Mettaton. 

“I know that is the memest of memes, but you are going to play that at our wedding.”~

You all stared at him. Sans looked up from his position on the floor.

“Wedding?!”

 

\----------

 

Sans and Chara sat on the couch on the darkness, the only light coming from the moon and San’s eyelights. Chara sniffled as they curled up, knees to their chest. Sans ruffled their hair absently. 

“you okay kid? i know that nightmares suck, but you can’t get all hung up on them. or you’ll end up like me, a sad sack of bones.” He said bitterly, removing his hand. Chara began to cry softly. He started to panic. Frisk hadn’t gotten like this for a while, and he didn’t know what to do with Chara. 

Chara tried to speak through their sobs and sniffles. *I dreamed that I killed you Sans. And Papyrus. And Mom. And-* They hiccupped again, swallowing hard to try to contain the tears enough so they could speak. It didn’t work. They continued anyway. *It was on an e-endless loop Sans. I was sometimes the killer, but mostly I watched as I became a parasite feeding on death. I became a literal god of destruction and chaos and-* They trailed off as they buried their head in their knees, breathing erratic. 

Neither of them got much sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry these were so short- I'm going to make the chapters longer eventually, but for now these are so short so I can put them out quickly! Next chapter will be colourful.....  
> In a few chapters the Sanders will arrive! Sorry for keeping them waiting for so long.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading and have a great day!


	21. River of Roses

-Three Months Later-

 

You stood in your room awkwardly, fiddling with your vest. It was blue- Everyone wore what Mettaton deemed was ‘aesthetically pleasing’ instead of a specific color- they just had to wear a white tie or corsage or something because of some old monster tradition. You wore your violin gloves, which were white already, a black button up and slacks, dress shoes, a blue vest and white tie, and a white handkerchief in the pocket. You felt sharp. Now to see if you could play. You prepared your instrument, starting with the song Mtt had requested. You had to do the vocals, but that was easy enough. You asked Sans to do it. You did a couple of notes. Perfect. You packed up your stuff, grabbed your white roses with orange, blue, and pink ribbons tied around the stems, and ran to the car where the others were waiting. 

You arrived at the venue. You flocked in with the other guests, and signed in. You saw a multitude of familiar faces- Blooky, Shyren, MK, a few humans; Frisk had asked for the permission to invite a few of their old friends, and after meeting them Mettaton and Papyrus quickly acquiesced. You dropped off your food at your placard, and was pleased to find that Toriel got the vase of white flowers. There was soft 8-bit music in the background as Blooky was in charge of the music selection. You and the others grabbed a few snacks and surveyed the crowd, looking for the grooms and admiring the atmosphere. 

They were having the wedding at a large field, so the sun illuminated everything and streamed through the windows. There were already swathes of people there, in a rainbow of colours. In monster tradition, the ceremony was after the first reception, so the party started as soon as it could. The ceremony would be this evening, illuminated by fire magic, and then the second reception would last all night for those who wished to partake in such an adventure. You grabbed some more food from the massive buffet table, and watched the festivities, sipping water and spidercider. 

Frisk ran up and introduced you to a teen in a red and white suit. "This is Roman Sanders. He and some of his family members are hanging around." Roman took your hand in a pricely gesture, kissing the top of the glove.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Borealis, was it?"

You smirked in his direction, bowing slightly. "Hello Roman. It's nice to meet you. Where, pray tell, are your assorted family members that I've heard stories about?"

He surveyed the crowd with a practiced ease. He pointed towards a figure danging ridiculously in the middle of the dance floor, wearing a grey tie and a light blue polo. Another man beside him was doing a version of the cha-cha slide in a black tux with a rainbow bow tie, and another similar-looking person in a black shirt and blue tie stood and watched him in disdain while reading a thick-looking book on astrophysics. Huh. 

"The one dancing in blue is Patton, the one in the bowtie is Thomas, and the boring one is Logan. I tried to convince him to leave the book at home, but my toils were fruitless." He looked around again. Then he pointed to a slightly older figure in yellow and brown by the drinks, talking to a similarly-aged man wearing sunglasses even if they were indoors. "The one in brown is Dee, and the one in the sunglasses is nicknamed Sleep for a number of reasons. It's a rather long story. Now where-?" He looked around for a few more seconds. You saw a shadowy figure out of the corner of your eye raise a finger to his lips and tackle Roman from behind. He was wearing black and purple, and a tie with a stitched-up motif. 

"GAK- Virgil?! What the here?!" Roman got up off of the ground. The figure, who was obviously Virgil, after glancing to see if he was okay, melted back into the shadows. How did he disappear so quickly? Roman glared at where the teen had gone. "And that is my twin Virgil. I should've known he would attempt to do something like this." He put a hand to his brow dramatically, and you suddenly had to resist the urge to laugh. 

The three of you continued to talk for half an hour or so, where he was dragged away by the one in blue to dance to the tune of Go The Distance from Hercules. You didn't know how one could dance to that, but somehow they did, and with elegance. Well, Roman did. Patton continued to dance ridiculously, gathering a few laughs from those in attendance.

 

After a few hours, you got a text from one of the grooms, which you had only seen faint glimpses of. 

 

TinCan: The show must go on.

 

You looked around, seeing no stage. You leapt onto the table, preparing your violin.  
Undyne screamed for everyone’s attention. You saw Virgil flinch from the corner of the room where he stood with his phone.

“EVERYONE please SHUT UP and SIT DOWN!” They flocked to their seats, including Virgil, who was dragged to the table where the other Sanders sat. 

 

“This song was by Mettaton’s request. Sorry about the table.” 

You played Never Gonna Give You Up, violin edition. Sans stood up on the adjoining table and sang the lyrics. People seemed impressed, yet were laughing so hard you could barely hear the song at times. 

“Thank you, thank you. I’ll be here all week.“ You lept off of the table, and sat down. 

 

-Many hours later-

 

The reception had pretty much ended, and dusk was setting in. You, Toriel, Frisk, any fire elementals, and Asgore lit up the place with fireballs. Undyne started to play the classic wedding tune on the piano. From behind two magenta curtains, Frisk and Chara appeared, Chara looking disgruntled as they scattered golden flower petals and glitter, a golden flower in their optional wig, and Frisk carrying Flowey, who was rocking a new white pot with a black ribbon.  
Then Mettaton walked down the aisle, arm in arm with Papyrus. They both wore tuxes, Mettaton in bright fuscia and black, and Papyrus in orange and white. As was custom, the audience threw their roses behind the couple, you included. It was like they were trailing a mountain of flowers, all white with different colours peeking through. Most were magenta, but a decent percentage were blue or orange or green. None were black however; black ribbons on roses were given to widows or at a funeral for a loved one. After Frisk and Chara had sat down, Sans threw Flowey with blue magic, setting him neatly atop the river of roses. Mettaton was clearly seen smiling as the Flower screamed. 

“HAPPY F***ING WEDDING YOU TRASH-!” He was smothered in roses.

They took their vows, and then the party really started. Someone broke out the monster mead, and Napstablook was DJ-ing. You grabbed a non-alcoholic margarita- you had learned your lesson on the one year anniversary of the Barrier breaking. Sans still had blackmail photos somewhere. You, Sans, and Undyne grouped in the corner by the piano with your various instruments. For some reason, Sans carried- oh god- a trumpet. He was extremely proficient at it, being able to beat Undyne at the piano with it in a music contest they had done a few months ago, also on the anniversary. Same with the ukulele. The three of you grinned cheekily at each other, then started to belt out the jammiest tune that the three of you had come out with. It was a mixture of Bonetrousle; Papyrus’s battle theme, and Mettaton’s hit single Death by Glamour. Better yet, it was an electro swing. There was a hodgepodge of music in the air for about five seconds, then Blooky joined in. The grooms took the floor, swinging each other around like they were on roller blades at an ice-skating competition. 

You jammed faster, spurred on by their dancing. Unfortunately, you didn’t notice someone (Cough cough Roman cough cough) put Monster Mead in your drink. You took a sip and continued to play. By the end of the night, the song grew so disjointed that you all were slumped over on random surfaces trying to play and failing miserably. 

Mettaton took a picture. He smiled. Time to send another photo to Sans. This was his job as a friend, after all. 

 

\------------

You awkwardly stood by one of the tables, not having been recognized the entire night. You picked at your purple and green dress. Suddenly, you looked up as a fAmiliar voice spoke. 

“MOM?”

You looked up to see the groom, orange tears falling from his sparkling eyes, an orange light faintly flowing from one socket. You felt your eyes light up in response, and you pulled him into a tearful hug. You saw a blur of blue as you felt another pair of arms wrap around the two of you. 

 

You faintly saw the shadows dance in the moonlight as the music played and you felt whole for the first time in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I forgot Thomas like a doofus, so I added him back in. Thank you for reading and have a great day!


	22. Persecute in HELL

You watched as Sans read the letter before the breakfast table. His eyelights shut off. Undyne, who had come over with Alphys, looked at him across the table. “Who am I gonna have to beat up? You not get your license?”

Sans shook his head, the beginnings of a smile forming on his permanently grinning face. He turned around the paper, and you saw a certificate. A lawyer’s certificate. He got his license after ages of work. He even sped through it with an online course to get it superfast like all of his other degrees. He was just that good. 

Everyone at the table cheered. Toriel dished out more quiche. Undyne texted Papyrus and Mettaton. Sans plopped himself down heavily in his chair. He blinked a bit. Undyne snapped her fingers in front of his face. He looked at her. 

“So what? Ya have a Physics PhD, an Astronomy PhD, Magical Science degree, Psychology degree, Music degree, and now a Lawyer’s degree?” 

“i guess so.” 

“Dang dude.” You looked at the certificate. 

“You’re a Criminal Defense Lawyer? Cool.”

He stared at all or you. “i told you guys this before- were you not paying attention?” 

You all stared at him. 

“T-the only time y-you mentioned law was when y-you were stressing over homework. W-we knew you were in law school, but not what type of lawyer you w-would be.” 

“oh.” 

Toriel changed the conversation, looking at Frisk. “So I’ve heard there’s a birthday coming up!” Frisk looked around, then pointed to themselves in astonishment. Toriel nodded. “It’s on Thursday, my child! Aren’t you excited?!” Frisk nodded, but there seemed to be a different kind of light in their eyes. They finished up their quiche. 

“May I be excused?” Toriel nodded, gathering the plates. They ran up to their room. You got up, and put your plate in the sink for Toriel, as always. You followed Frisk, and knocked on their door. 

“Hey Frisk?” No answer. You knocked again. “You okay? Can we talk or something? If you want to, I mean.” The door opened. You expected to see Frisk, but only saw a vine retreating along the wall. You stuck your head in, seeing Frisk at their desk, swiveling on their chair. “Frisk? You feeling alright?” Your flames crackled. They looked up, and waved halfheartedly. 

“Sorry, my mind was stuck on another plane of existence there.” They smiled, but it looked fake. On the windowsill, Flowey rolled their eyes. You sat on their bed.

“Don’t be an idiot Frisk.” 

Frisk looked away from you, towards the door. You looked over too, to see Chara, looking annoyed. 

*Okay look. There are a ton of things happening right now, so get up, shut up, and help me calm down Papyrus. Stop wallowing in misery Frisk and enjoy. Your. God. Damned. Birthday.* 

The door slammed behind them. All three of you raised your eyebrows at each other and ran downstairs, Frisk carrying Flowey. 

 

They emerged to Papyrus screaming in delight as he stared at someone in the doorway. The figure looked at their watch. Papyrus paused to take a breath. Sans interrupted.

“hey dadster.” 

\--------------

 

You gasped as your eyes burned with magic. You looked into the nearest window in confusion. You looked… normal. Non-melty. You blinked, and looked at your hand. The bones shimmered in the light. You ran to your closet and pulled on your customary white robes with purple, green, and dark blue designs on the hem. You saw a shortcut and jumped through, landing on the block two streets down from Toriel’s house. Frisk had given you directions on one of their visits to see the others.

You ran and ran, gasping even though skeletons don’t need to breathe. You skidded down the corner, stopping in shock as you saw your family. 

Wing Dings Gaster.  
Papyrus.  
Sans.

Tears streamed down your face as you tackled your husband. You soon got ahold of yourself.

 

You straightened up, deadly serious. Your eyes burned, tear tracks still wet on your face. 

 

You conjured a bone and held it under your husband’s chin. You seethed, but took a deep breath. You smacked him lightly with the end of it on the side of his head. He winced, even though he didn’t lose any HP.

“So this is my welcoming present?” He got a lost look in his eyes as he rubbed the area you had hit. Everyone held their breath. 

You both dove into each other’s arms, tears starting anew. 

You were so glad that hugging was just a way to hide your face.

\-------------

You, Flowey, Chara, and Frisk watched this exchange with awe through the living room window. Papyrus could hardly contain a squeal from between his gloves as he joined into the hug. Sans merely smiled as he watched his family with joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was so short- I will post another one this week because I am finally on summer vacation- the next one is nice and long, so don't worry. I hope any of you still in school are getting through the final stretch alright, and that any of you who are free are feeling great! Have a great day and thanks for reading!   
> STAY DETERMINED!


	23. School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Sanders are finally here for more than five minutes! Woohoo!   
> Enjoy!

You smiled at your former headmate as you packed up your things for school. Chara smiled back. The two of you had loved school for your entire lives- and what wasn’t there to love? Other people, new subjects, the library, the food Mom packed you, and all in one place! Even if you had homework, the positives outweighed the negatives. 

You finished checking your bag and hoisted it onto your shoulders over your blue hoodie; a Christmas gift from Sans and Papyrus. You waved to the skeletons as you grabbed a spider pastry as your breakfast. Mom handed you a piece of pie in a container for lunch. You grabbed some chisps just in case you were still hungry. You looked at the clock. You still had a few minutes, so you sat at the table next to Borealis, who was absorbed in a book about growing artichokes. People read the weirdest things. 

You munched on your jelly-filled donut as you looked around. It was a school day, so fewer of your friends- no, family- were here. They were family. Alphys and Gaster were at the Lab already, and Undyne was talking to Asgore about how to install a shelving unit. They both were hopeless at Ikea furniture. Although, let’s be honest, the only people who could follow those directions were you and Sans. Chara was banned after they threw an L-wrench in frustration and it narrowly missed Toriel’s face, who was bringing in refreshments for the three of you. Borealis kept lighting the instructions on fire accidentally, so she was no help.

You heard a knock at the door. That must be Corciva, who was bringing you to school today. You jumped up, running to the door. Sure enough, there stood the skeleton, wearing purple robes and a smile. You gave her a hug, then waved at the rest of your family as Chara joined the two of you. They waved back. The two of you walked to the shortcut on the corner. 

Skeletons had two kinds of shortcuts- ones like the kind Sans used, where you could go anywhere you wanted like that, which took a lot of energy and could only carry two people, and ones that were in specific locations that connected to others, which took almost no energy or space-time know-how, just magic- they could take up to five if needed, even if they needed to recharge afterwards. Fortunately, there were ones both close to your house and close to your school, and only three of you. 

The three of you walked down the blocks. You asked Corsiva how her day was. She let go of your hand to sign. It was easier, and like a secret language between the three of you. 

 

You said your morning wasn’t bad. 

Chara agreed, but wasn’t looking forward to the math test today. The two of you had studied all night yesterday, but you feared it wasn’t enough. 

However…

The hopes that you and your sibling would get a good   
grade on the math test filled you with  
Determination.   
File: SAVE

 

You smiled at the two of them as you neared the shortcut. Corsiva ruffled your hair. The three of you locked arms and went through the shortcut. 

\---1st Period- Math-----

You went into your classroom, sitting down next to Logan, who was in his customary black polo shirt and tie. He had four brothers, and managed to skip a grade, so even though he was the youngest, he managed to be in the same grade as the twins, Virgil and Roman. Thomas was in the grade above you- an 8th grader, and Patton was the grade above that- a Freshman in High School. or Grade 9. Their cousins were twins in Sophomore Year, or Grade 10. You could see Virgil stressing in the corner of the room. You prepared yourself as you received the test paper. You risked a glance at the test. It looked easy! Guess the studying yesterday paid off. Now to find the x…..

\----

You went up to the front and turned in your paper on the stool by the whiteboard. You were closely followed by Chara. You flashed them a smile, and went back to your desk, pulling out a sketchpad. You decided to draw Greater Dog. No- Undyne in her armor, spears blazing. Yeah- that would be perfect. You ignored the constant glares of the people whose families were in the NMC. It wouldn’t do any good anyway.

 

\---2nd Period- Science----

You looked at the posters on the walls as Mrs. Tyler talked about ecosystems. Not that it wasn’t interesting- on the contrary, it was fascinating- but you had gone through a cave firsthand with multiple ecosystems, from snow to lava, and Sans taught you about it one rainy day. You raised your hand as Roman passed out some worksheets, dressed in a snazzy red sweater. 

“May I please use the restroom?” 

With a nod of thanks, you left the room. You couldn’t wait for art. Or history. Or lunch. All three?

\---3rd Period- PE----

You stood with the other kids on one side of the gym, all three grades mashed together after doing our excercises. Undyne randomly called out kids to stand by the bag of dodgeballs. Thomas, Joan, the other Joan, Valerie, Alex, Priscilla, Maggie... You swallowed and looked out over the gym floor. Undyne had put up gym mats like walls, leaving a corridor in-between. You felt adrenaline rush through your veins. Undyne blew her whistle. 

“GO!” 

You ran, dodging balls and hiding behind walls, hoping not to get hit- and having the time of your life.

\---4th Period- English----

You sat down in your desk, still slightly sweaty from running and dodging. You looked up. Grammar today. You pulled out a blue pencil, reading the pun in comic sans. 

“this pencil is gonna do a skele-ton of work.”

You liked this pencil. You had others made for you, all a gift from Borealis. She liked quotes. And a lot of other random stuff. Yeah, you had a weird family. You looked up as the bell rang and you began to learn about passive and active voice. You had to tell Sans a pun about that later, if you remembered. Or if you thought of one that was worthy of being told. 

\---Lunch---

You and Chara sat together at a table with the brothers. It was convenient that this was a 6th-12th school. Then you could all hang out. They waved as you sat down. You waved back. You pulled out your pie, chisps, and some homework for the next day. Might as well do it here- you had a PTA meeting later to do to, and those only gave you a half hour to work usually, and you had a presentation due next week. You listened to their conversations as you ate. 

“Hey Logan? Do you mind helping me with my Psych homework? Question #13.” 

He leaned over Virgil’s shoulder, putting a shoulder on his brother’s hoodie. “That is a Yerkes-Dodson Curve, used to measure how psychological changes can affect performance. In this case it is describing how levels of anxiety affect work ethics. Higher amounts of anxiety can cause low performance, and low amounts of anxiety can cause low performance, so having a medium level of anxiety can create the greatest performance boon in one’s work schedule.” 

“Huh. Thanks.” He scribbled down some of what he said. Logan looked over at Roman, who was reading a script for his drama class. He pursed his lips but said nothing as he went back to his book. 

Soon enough, the bell rang for 5th. 

 

\---5th Period- History---

You went to your desk in the second row of the room. You liked being in the front. You could see everything- the door, the whiteboard, the lesson- and almost nobody was in your way so you couldn’t see. Even if you were on display, you were able to focus on other stuff. You pulled out your notebook to take notes. You were covering the Civil Rights Movement today and watching a movie. 

\-----

You were whispering with Logan as the movie played ridiculously loudly. You debated how the horses in the teargas scene should have been affected by said teargas. Roman chimed in, saying it was just a movie. Then you both got onto the topic on how accurate historical representation was important until the teacher told you all to be quiet. Then you just sat there in awkward silence. 

 

\---6th Period- Art----

You were painting today. Yay! You took a seat next to Thomas and Chara. Mr. Powell played some Bob Marley music as you painted and talked. You made a couple of jokes as you painted the path from the Ruins to Snowdin. 

“Why were the pencil and pen arguing? They were at a draw.” 

Thomas snickered at this. Nobody else seemed to care. You worried. He told a few bad ones he had gotten from Patton.

You sighed in relief as the bell rang. 

Toriel was waiting, ignoring the picket signs that were posted in front of the school. Mr. Akron had tried to send them away, but they wouldn’t move, so he had to leave them alone to get any work done. 

You went home, surprised at how quiet it was. Then you walked by Chara’s room to angry flower screaming. 

“YOU F”- You mentally censored him- “ING locked me in a BACKPACK for the entire FREAKING DAY, and you have the AUDACITY to apologize without any gummi bears?!” 

At this volume, it was a surprise anyone wasn’t rushing up to see what was happening. There were a lot of people in the house after all, and it was a miracle it was as silent as it was. Granted, there was a PTA meeting soon that you had to prepare for both mentally and emotionally because some of them were in the NMC, the leader included, but it was still unnatural. You opened the door slowly, holding a small white bag in your nervous hands. You took aim at the windowsill and threw. 

The sealed bag of chocolate-covered gummi bears sailed through the air to hit Chara in the head. Ouch. Your aim was awful. You closed the door and snuck away, leaving them to munch at the deliciousness. You went downstairs to see everyone at the door. Was it really 4:30 already? Mom was holding her purse, talking to Borealis, who was going to take care of the others while you were at the meeting with Sans and Mom. Sans was outside, getting into the passenger side of the car. You grabbed your backpack to do some homework, and went out as well, hugging Borealis goodbye as you did. They ruffled your hair. You climbed into the backseat, bouncing up and down a little as you did so. You may have hated PTA meetings, but you did like a few of the parent’s kids. And you would get dinner afterwards to take home for everyone! Your mouth watered at the thought of the fries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and have a great day!


	24. Picnic! At the Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is in Frisk's perspective then Sans. Hope you enjoy! Since this is so short I'm posting the next three chapters at once, so enjoy!

You were at the park with Papyrus and Sans. Papyrus was Face-timing with his husband, who was on a short tour for a few weeks. You squished your cheeks at the adorableness. They were so cute! He kissed the phone goodbye, sighing as he returned it to his pocket. The two of you looked over the grass before you. Not really at anything, just the grass. And a few birds. And a couple glaring people. And maybe a squirrel. Okay, a bit more than just grass. You looked over at Sans, who had brought out his old Hotland Sentry Station from the Underground and placed it by one of the cement pathways. A Vulcan and a Flame Elemental were eating their ‘dogs. You thought if you wanted some lunch. Your stomach decided for you. You asked Papyrus if he wanted to have a hot animal. He didn’t respond. You climbed onto his lap and knocked on his skull a few times. He started with a small noise. You repeated your question. 

“DO I WANT A HOTDOG? SURE! HERE, LET ME JUST GET SOME G…” He dug around in his pockets for some change. You waved his hands away. He had brought you out to the park after all, you were at least entitled to get him some lunch with some of your unused allowance. He shrugged after a few seconds and returned the Gold to a small pouch in his pocket, inscribed with the Delta rune. You got off of his lap, and walked over to Sans’s station, the gold jingling in the pocket of your white, black, and blue striped hoodie. You approached the counter, where Sans was dozing while reading a thick Lawyer’s textbook. You put the G on the counter. 

“Hi Sans! Can I have two Hot Animals please? Any kind will do. Sorry to bother you.” He smiled as he laid the textbook aside. He lifted his feet from the counter and pulled out some ‘dogs from a heated bin. 

“it’s no prob bob. ya want any condiments? the two of you really seem to relish the mustard.” You thought for a minute and nodded. His mustard was super good. After a few seconds he handed you a paper-wrapped hotcat. Then a paper-wrapped hotelephant. A new edition. Nice. You juggled the ‘dogs in one hand as you took out the G. He waved it away. Your eyes narrowed, and you thrust your hand forwards. This was one of the only monster establishments where you could use your gold, and you were waiting for the gold exchange rates to rise again so you could convert some G you had found in the Underground. He shrugged, looking over your shoulder at some unseen person, and swiped the Gold into another bin under the counter. He ruffled your hair, and you smiled at him, returning to Papyrus on the bench, who was staring back into the distance. You handed him his ‘dog, and the two of you settled down to enjoy the day. 

\---------

Sans felt his eyes grow heavy in the warm sun. The sun. He shifted in his chair, setting aside his book. He had read it all already on one of his insomniac nights, he was just looking for a refresher before his next class. He could afford to take a nap. He felt the weight of everything as he closed his eyes, from tiredness to fear to sadness weighing on his chest. He paid it no heed as he slipped into dreamland. 

\---

He sat in the snow, back against a tree. He hated to watch this, he really did, but something compelled him to; something deep inside him, haunting and corrupt and diseased inside him made him watch as the light of his life was decimated before him. He gritted his teeth as he wrung the hem of his hoodie in his hand, trying to keep himself from doing… something. He was reminded by himself to take a breath. He did, suddenly realizing how deprived of oxygen his SOUL had been. He didn’t really need to breathe, but it helped stabilize his magic. It wasn’t worth it to forget about it for too long. He silently took some deep breaths. He was reminded of a song he had heard Undyne playing on the piano in one of her moods. The tune drifted through his thoughts. 

These words are nice but often leave scars,  
The fear, the fear, the fear of falling apart. 

RESET. SAVE. LOVE. DUST. DUST. Dust.. dust… dust…. He had to physically shake his head to shake the repetitive thoughts from his brain. Speaking of dust, he heard the kid’s footsteps. No, not the kid’s. The Player’s footsteps. There was a distinct difference after a while. They were like a ticking clock, consistent and quick and doing whatever the hell it wanted to to his fAmily. He remembered flashes of the previous RESET. The sun. A lawyer’s textbook. A wedding with a bunch of roses flooding the isles, one screaming flower sitting on the top. A group of skeletons, one in black, one in red, one in white, flowing robes. A yellow and green sweater. Some kind of blue flame? Then blackness. 

He started as if he had been slapped. Borealis. Frisk. Chara. Gaster. Corsiva. Irik. Joan. The others. Toriel. Asgore. Even Flowey. Disjointed images flowed through his head, stabbing pain in his eye sockets. He put his hands over his eyes to try to stop the pain. He felt magic seeping in between his phalanges. Then burning tears. He fell onto his side, only objectively noticing the faint sound of his brother dissolving into dust. He felt as if he was on fire. He held his throbbing skull in his hands, not noticing the twin wisps of magic flowing from both eyes. Both eyes. 

All he knew was burning. 

\---

He woke up in his room, curling in on himself under his desk, eyes aflame. He must have teleported in his sleep- hold up- eyes? His right eye had been damaged beyond repair in the CORE incident all those years ago. He still had some hairline cracks around the socket…. He reached up, feeling the area around his right socket. Nothing. Nothing at all. He blinked a few times, the magic dispelling in his shock. He looked at his shaky hands in disbelief. He got out from under his desk. He slowly walked to the mirror over his dresser. Nothing. He activated his Magic… and almost fell over backwards from the whiplash. He held his temples as he brought up his STATS. Still 1 HP, 1 DEF, 1 ATK. Everything else was normal. How could this have happened? He teleported back to the park, and settled back down in his chair, mind racing. One thing was for sure.

He couldn’t tell anybody about this until he had it figured out.

\----------

You watched Sans settle back into his chair. He looked like his notoriously lazy self, but this was slightly different. You could see something was off. He seemed tense, and you saw some residual magic around his eyes. Hold up- eyes? He only had the one eye, right? You saw Papyrus looking at his brother, brows furrowed. He locked eyes with you and whispered into your ear. 

“DO YOU SEE SOMETHING OFF ABOUT SANS? HE ISN’T HIMSELF.” 

You nodded. “Yeah. He’s too wary. Like he’s trying to keep something really big under his hat.” 

You would know, for he had not looked like that in the RESET Cycle. Not even in any of the various playthroughs where you were being controlled by the Player. First he had teleported in his sleep, something he hadn’t done since he was in one of his darker moods, then he was literally oozing magic. You crumpled up your ‘dog wrapper absentmindedly. Time to talk to Alphys about what she was talking with Sans about on Wednesday. Maybe. If they remembered.


	25. Conversation

You carried your bag into Undyne and Alphys’s house. Not only were you going to have your conversation with Alphys, but you were also going to watch Doctor Who! You had recently gotten the two of them hooked, Undyne with the concept of space battles and time machine antics and Alphys with the history and science. It really was a win-win situation for all involved. You dumped the bag by the couch, and flopped down on the furniture, looking around for either Undyne or Alphys. You heard a noise from the garage and followed the sound. You found Alphys at her workstation, and Undyne playing piano, creating a cacophony of sound. You stood in the doorway for a few seconds, until Undyne somehow realized you were in the room. She jumped up and grabbed you in a hug-turned-into-a-noogie. As soon as she released you, you tried to pat your hair back into place. As the two of you laughed, Alphys turned over and saw you. 

“H-Hi F-Frisk! S-Sorry, I d-didn’t see y-you come i-in. I k-kinda lost track o-of time th-there.” She rubbed the back of her neck nervously as he turned off a power tool and straightened up a few papers in her workspace. You waved it off. 

“It’s fine Alphys! Besides, it’s not like I was bored or anything, watching you both being cute.” 

She immediately broke out on a red blush, covering her mouth with her hands and stomping around a little. She spluttered a bit, then went over in greeting, giving you a hug, smelling slightly of oil. You summoned up some Bravery, taking in a deep breath. 

“So I was at the park with Papyrus yesterday, and we both saw something off with Sans.” 

Alphys immediately was serious. “What seemed off?” Undyne simply listened, quiet. 

“Well, we went to the park, and we got some ‘dogs, and then he fell asleep after a while. He teleported away while sleeping, although we barely noticed- we were playing Uno. When he came back, he was wide awake, looking like he was sitting on a secret and we both saw some residual magic in both of his eyes.” 

Both of their eyes widened at the same time. 

“But h-his right eye was traumatically sealed by the force wave after th-the CORE wiped out the power in the Underground for a week. He still has the scars, no matter what healing m-magic we used.” 

She trailed off. Undyne took over.

“I tried to help him unlock his eye after he joined sentry duty, and nothing happened. The only thing that could have unlocked it was a release valve of some kind. Like a magical version of a SuperSayen in DBZ. It would take a lot of Determination and magic for that kind of thing to happen, and with his stats…” She trailed off too. They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds. 

“So, anyone want to watch Doctor Who and the Master kick ass as a chick?” A chorus of ‘yes’s rang through the room.

\----------

Borealis was playing Pokemon with Flowey. She sent out a Flareon. She loved using Eevees. Flowey sent out an Alakazam. Flareon used Flamethrower. Alakazam used Energy Ball. A timer bleeped from the kitchen. Borealis carried Flowey’s pot to the destination, electronics forgotten. There were cookies to be eaten after all. They both loved snickerdoodles.

\-----------

Chara heard the timer from their room. They thought about whether they wanted to get a cookie, but they decided to stick with their Ghirardelli Chocolate. They had standards, even if they did like any kind of chocolate, except white chocolate. It didn’t even have cacao. They continued to draw their family on the light brown piece of paper. There were a lot of people to add after all. 

\-----------

Sans clicked and clacked on the keyboard. He mulled for solutions in his mind but found none. 

LOG: 9/17/XX- 8:37 PM

There are a few hypotheses for my recovery. Either something broke the traumatic seal, or there was another magical power surge. My guess is that it was a mixture of both, but I need more evidence. There seems to be the same power set, just with more stamina and energy. I guess that I should probably go to Gaster, but none of his old notes seem to shed any light on the situation. Maybe Undyne will be of assistance... 

He closed the laptop with a sigh, curling up on his bed with a sigh. Time to get some sleep. Man, eight hours in the last two days. He was on a roll.

\---

He was walking down a dirt road surrounded by cherry trees. He knew he was in a dream. He tried to stop. He couldn’t. He suddenly was stopped by a brick wall jumping out of nowhere. He smacked his head up against it, then stood back, rubbing his skull. He tried to break it down, but he couldn’t. Then it hit him. He simply went around the obstacle, bypassing the wall and continuing to walk on the path he had been on in the first place. He suddenly tripped over nothing.

\---

Sans felt himself falling, but then awoke to the sound of his alarm, his arm scribbling madly in a tattered blue spiral notebook that had been resting on the end of his bed. Well that was short. He looked over the writing. It was perfect. Calculations, data points, and other subconscious ramblings all written down in the notebook. Seems that he had been sleep writing for the first time in a while. He hadn’t done this since the CORE incident. This was intriguing. And worrying, to say the least. 

Was he reverting back to the old Sans? And if he was, would all of his old habits resurface? 

He had to talk to Undyne. And soon.


	26. Fight Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Wild LONG CHAPTER has appeared! LONG CHAPTER used PLOT BOMB!

Undyne was chilling on the couch when the doorbell rang. She paused the Gravity Falls rerun, and stood up to answer the door in her pajamas, which consisted of sweatpants and a tanktop. To her surprise, Sans stood there on the steps, holding a notebook and smiling nervously. 

“hey ‘dyne. can we talk?” 

She blinked a few times, then stepped aside, leaving room for him to walk in. He did, setting himself into one of the armchairs. He set the notebook onto the arm of the chair, resting with his elbows on his knees. They sat there in an awkward silence for a few moments. 

“So what did ya want to talk about?” Sana rubbed the back of his skull. 

“well, you see, a few days ago my right eye started to work again. don’t know why, don’t know how, don’t know anything like that. and a few days ago, i woke up sleepwriting for the first time in about fifty years.” She blinked a few times. 

“Okay. That’s a lot. So you know nothing about your eye? Any STAT increase? Any changes?”

“nope. no stat change, just a bit more stamina. here, take a look.” He activated his magic. Both eyes flared. Undyne raised her brows. 

“Dang. If we still had the guard system, I'd've promoted you right now.” 

“eh.” He waved it off. “i’m too lazy anyway.”  
She laughed, but then looked closer at his eyes. “Hey, Sans, do you mind summoning a Blaster for me?” He blinked a bit. 

“uh, sure.” He did with a wave of his hand. The Blaster was the same size, but now both eyes were alight. Undyne nodded. 

“Can you summon a bone or something?” He shrugged, and complied, placing a single white femur into her hands. 

“here ya go. be careful of the kr.” 

She handled it with a smile. “I’ll be fine. That only really works that well on humans anyways.” 

“oh yeah. forgot about that.” 

She tested the bone, bending it in her hands. It snapped. She raised her brows again as she looked at the fragments. “Dude. This stuff is almost physical. Ya sure you don’t have an increased ATK STAT?” He waved his hand in front of his face and shook his head. 

“nope.” 

She continued to observe the flakes. “Normally these would have disappeared by now. It seems that your magic output has increased. I’d expect to see an increase in your ATK STAT in the next week or two, maybe even in the next month. Can you come to training tomorrow? See if we can figure something out?” He stiffened, immediately thinking of his brother. She noticed. “Papyrus was going to visit Mettaton anyways for a date, the lovebirds. It’ll just be the two of us, and possibly Frisk. They did want to polish up on their dodging skills.” His deer-in-the-headlights expression didn’t fade. “I can try to convince them to reschedule, but they did want to bring Borealis, and I don’t think they will be swayed.”

He sighed deeply, running his hands over his skull. “fine. that’s fine. as long as i’m finished by saturday i can-” He broke off, realizing he had spoken aloud. Undyne raised a brow, curious, but decided to leave it at that. 

“Okay then. Does tomorrow at 10:30 near the training field work for you? I’m free all day because it’s a Tuesday. Swim only meets on Wednesdays and Fridays after school, so Thursday could work if it conflicts with your classes.” 

He waved her off. “nah. we’re on break for a week because the building is getting fumigated, and there isn’t another classroom we can use. this is the perfect week to do it.” 

“Cool.” She stood up. “Anything else you need to talk about?” 

“nope.” He picked up his notebook. “see ya tomorrow ‘dyne. thanks.” He teleported away.

\-------------

They stood silently in a large, grassy field dotted with scorch marks. He dug his hands into his pockets awkwardly. “so how are we gonna-” She sprang forwards, spear in hand. He teleported up into the air, SOUL blue so he could stay in place. She threw the spear at him. He knocked it aside with a bone. He teleported back to the ground, breathing a little from the warm up. He hadn’t done anything like that since the last Genocide route. She stood at attention, staring him down. He caught his breath. “what the heck?! you didn’t give me a warning!” She scoffed. 

“Ya won’t get a warning. One second everything’s perfectly fine, and the next- well, you get the idea.” His eye sockets widened. 

“you’re serious about this.” 

She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to. She was in full battle armour, evidently prepared for the worst. He let his reflexes take control as he settled into his battle stance; right hand in pocket, and left hanging at his side, feet spread shoulder-width apart, so he could move easily without getting tripped on his own feet. His eyes widened slightly, and his breathing deepened. His shoulders slumped a bit, conserving energy for an emergency escape on foot. He rolled his neck. His eyelights surveyed around quickly, mostly focused on the opponent. His anxiety climbed. 

What if he hurt her? 

What if someone else saw and assumed the worst?

What if-

He shook his head, focusing on the fish. He saw her mouth move. “GO!” He summoned a Blaster, and disappeared into the trees surrounding the glade, wanting to get out of danger fast. She dodged the beams easily, then threw a spear at it. It disappeared, back to the realm where it resided. He threw some bones in there, not really feeling it. She hadn’t done anything to cause a fight. It wasn’t worth it…

And then he had to dodge a spear. He teleported away, to the other side of the field. An image flew through his mind. A pile of dust in Waterfall, and an anguished cry as a scientist watched on from her cameras as the love of her life was destroyed. He blinked, hard. Can’t get distracted… The adrenaline high was gone. She seemed annoyed. 

“I get you don’t want to fight, but what is the fucking point of training if we don’t fucking fight?!” He teleported behind her, and she turned his SOUL green. He realized she had no idea about his 1 HP. Shit. Only Alphys knew, and she wouldn’t breathe a word to another SOUL. She knew he had lower stats, but she didn’t know he only had 1 HP! Shit shit shit shit shit…. He tried to fight it. A shield appeared in his hand as she turned around. Shit shit shit! He had had more than that right after the CORE incident, but it had dwindled after the RESETS started. Shit! 

She threw a barrage of spears at him. He tried to dodge them, but only barely knocked them aside. She grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into a tree by a spear. He knew he had actual fear in his eyes by now, but he didn’t care. He tried to turn her SOUL blue, but she leveled a spear at his head. He tried to teleport. No can do. He tried to call for help. 

But nobody came.  
But nobody came.  
But nobody came.  
BUT NOBODY CAME. 

He panicked. Bones flew up out of the ground. They did little damage. She shrugged them off and continued to advance. 

His SOUL felt like it was going to explode out of his chest. Then his world dimmed. 

All he heard was the wind howling as he felt like he was burning from the inside out. 

\---------

He came to, lying on the ground. He got up, and saw Undyne on the other side of the field in a heap. He panicked. 

“undyne!” He ran over to her. She opened her eye as he bent over her. She started to shake slightly as her eye focused on him. She shoved him away. He took a few steps back, wishing he could help. “undyne?” She still had her eye trained on him. He realized she had taken off her helmet, and there was a small gash above one eye. “are you okay? you’re bleeding pretty badly over your right eye.” He felt his hands grow hot. He looked down. “what the fuck.” His hands were glowing a faint green. Well who would’ve thunk. He thought his kindness had died a long time ago. He slowly approached her and touched her on the arm. Her bruises started to heal, and the cut above her eye started to fade. She still looked at him with distrust. “anyway, any clue why i passed out for a bit there? all i remember was you holding me against the tree, and then nothing.” 

She stared at him silently for a few seconds. He started to feel uncomfortable. “i-i’m sorry if something happened, honest, but i have seriously no freaking clue what happened.” She sighed, wiping her face with one hand, and starting to take off her armour with another. She stepped out, dressed in a t-shirt and leggings. He snapped, and it disappeared so she wouldn’t have to carry it home. She tried to give him a smile. When she spoke, her tone was a little shaky.

“Well, I had you pinned against the tree, and you started to panic. Dunno why, but you did. Then you seemed to snap, and I was blasted over here in a flash of blue and white and yellow, and you were slumped on the ground. Then I passed out, and I came to with you over me.” She cocked her head. “Why were you so freaked out?” She settled down on the grass. He joined her, burying his hands into his pockets, taking in a few deep breaths. 

“well, that’s because i only have 1 hp.” She stared at him. 

“WELL WHY THE HELL DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THAT?!” She screamed into the sky. “I DIDN’T KNOW!” He shrugged, regretting most of his decisions. 

“how the heck would i know? it’s a reflex by now, really.” She stared at him. 

“How long have you only had one HP?” he thought for a minute.

“about 14 years.” 

“14 YEARS?!” 

He winced at her volume, shrinking into his hoodie. “yep, pretty much. that’s what made my other stats go so low too. i used to have around the same stats as papyrus, just with more atk and slightly less hp.” She goggled at him. 

“How’d ya lose it?” This was the dreaded question. 

“there were a lot of factors- the core incident, gaster disappearing, the resets, general loss of hope, depression, anxiety, helplessness, ya know, the usual. i guess i just didn’t want to die though, or else pap would be alone.” 

“Damn.” there was a couple of minutes of silence. “You really need therapy.” 

“i know. oh, i know.” 

\-----------------

Frisk was eating and baking with Toriel and Borealis. Apparently having Magical Fire Abilities helped one to cook and bake. Or maybe that was coincidence. They were making pralines, with chocolate chips and marshmallows. You kept sneaking in smidges of cookiedough, enjoying the taste of chocolate and mallow. You heard the doorbell ring and went to answer it. To your surprise, it was Alphys. She blinked at you a few times, then walked into the house, giving you a hug with her arms full of papers and anxiety. She peeked into the house as Toriel came into the hallway, dusting off her hands on her apron. Alphys stuttered a bit.

“H-Hello y-your Majesty! I-I was w-wondering if S-Sans was here?” Toriel smiled patiently. 

“Hello Alphys. Yes, I do believe he is in his room, if you would like me to get him. Last I heard, he was reading up on something called ‘Expungement’. I shall go fetch him.” She walked out of the room. Flowey sneered at the scientist from his spot on the kitchen table. 

“Hey, if it isn’t the dumpster fire! How nice to see you.” Alphys looked at the flower, regret etched across her face. You smacked Flowey upside his head. He hissed at you, then went back to his 3DS. You ran upstairs to your room. 

You heard a notification from your computer. To your surprise, it was Logan. This was probably for the English Presentation. You opened the app and clicked on ACCEPT. He came into view, adjusting his tie. 

“Hey Logan.”

“Greetings. I am under the assumption that collaborating on our English Presentation would be beneficial to us.” You nodded.

“Hold up- let me get my stuff.” You grabbed your binder from your backpack and returned to your desk. You took out your packet, and the two of you set to work. 

You had been working for a half-hour or so when you heard a large crash. The two of you looked up. “Not on my side.” Logan paled. 

“My deepest apologies, but we may have to put this conversation on hold.” He got up from his seat, and made to close the call, but it didn’t close. You watched him run out of the room. Wow. He was actually running for something other than school. You heard muffled voices from through the open door. 

“Roman? Where did you get a samurai sword? Patton! Why are you joining them in their tomfoolery?” 

You heard a door slam open. They didn’t cease their talking; but you heard loud stomps, and Virgil passed the open door, fists clenched at his sides and his hood over his head. 

“Roman. Put that sword down before you put an eye out. Patton, while he really appreciates you helping him out, maybe you can work with Thomas on honing Ro’s sword skills over the weekend in the backyard. You could easily break something in the house. Logan, you know confronting them only hastens their urge to do it to annoy you. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a test tomorrow.” He walked back to his room, pausing briefly at Logan’s open door. “Hey Frisk.” He walked back to his room. There was a deafening silence throughout the house. Logan walked back into the room. His tie was slightly askew. He sat down. There was an awkward silence between the two. He coughed. 

“My apologies. I expect that this will diminish some sort of respect for me.” 

“Nah.” You waved your hand. This was nothing compared to Undyne and Alphys. He started in his seat. 

“Pardon me? I must have misheard you.” 

“This is nothing compared to a few of my family members Logan. You guys are tame by comparison. You know Undyne.” He blinked a few times, then relaxed slightly. 

“Oh. That went against my expectations.” You giggled a bit. 

“Loosen up. You are tenser than Virgil before a math test.” 

He scoffed. “I will have you know that I would never let myself get like that. I am often compared to embody logic itself. That is illogical, ergo, I would not react in such a manner.” 

“Your worry over Roman says otherwise~” 

He rolled his eyes as he read through the assignment. “It appears that we have added all of the necessary information.” 

“Cool. As for your question earlier…” He looked up, curious. “Papyrus gave him the samurai sword. See you tomorrow!” He was about to say something, but you closed the call. You grabbed your buzzing phone, and headed downstairs, texting Papyrus to warn him for the near future amongst the angry texts from Logan. 

 

You came down the stairs to see Alphys missing. Probably in Sans’s room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy! I might post more this week... I have a lot stocked up that I'm excited about. I hope you enjoyed and have a great day!


	27. Suckerpunch

Alphys was sitting on his desk chair, completely stunned. 

“S-So you want to contact this mysterious otherworldly figure-“

“The Player.” Hey. Capitalization. This was important.

“Yes. And you want to use F-Flowey to do it? He’s unreliable!”

“they’re not going to be able to be killed, and ol’ flowerpower has had the best chance in the genocide route.” 

“W-why don’t we add some kind of no-options mechanic? Make them f-frozen or something?”

“how? it’s not like this is a videogame or….” he trailed off. if he was human, he would’ve blanched. “oh shoot. they think this is a video game. the resets. the saves. the freaking stats. they are like a videogame. it makes total sense. they think we are all videogame characters because that’s how our world is formatted. the routes. the story. it actually does seem like a video game when you think about it. down to the backstory. we were sealed underground- that could be seen like a cut scene or something. shoot- the timelines are like save files and discarded attempts at playing the game.” 

“They t-think we are video game characters? Okay. N-now I see why you want Flowey. That person d-doesn’t deserve to crawl away with no c-consequences.” 

“no no no no no no. they’ll think this is a final final boss or something if he attacks them. we just have to hope that they have some mercy. maybe get chara in there to persuade them not to reset.” 

“How? It-It’s not like we have some kind of machine that can do that. We’d have to b-build one.” 

Sans was gonna answer, when he got a text. 

 

Friskybits: We can use my SAVE screen. I can try to project what you want in there. I was able to do it with statues of you guys.  
Snas: how do you know what we’re talking about?   
Friskybits: I’m outside the door. Duh.   
Snas: can anyone else hear us?   
Friskybits: Nope. Just me.   
Snas: well come on in then. 

 

Frisk hesitantly opened the door. Alphys’s brows shot up. “H-How does Frisk have a-anything to do with this?”

“The Player used me to do their bidding, along with the other SOULS and Chara. They’ve forced me to RESET and SAVE, along with hurting my family.” 

They said this objectively, with little emotion on their face. What emotion there was, however, was muted anger. This did not bode well with the Player. Frisk took a deep breath, probably telling themselves to calm down. 

“Anyway, do you want me to try to see what I can create in my SAVE screen? I have to do some homework before school tomorrow, but I can at least see what I can do and keep you updated.”

Sans nodded, ruffling their hair. “thanks kiddo. i understand this may be hard for you. however, if anything bad happens, you do have your saves. don’t lose hope yet.” Frisk blinked at him, then smiled. 

“Okay Dunkle Sans!” They hugged Alphys and ran out of the room. Alphys looked at Sans, who was currently BSOD. She snapped her claws in front of his face. His eyelights returned faintly. 

“did-“ He swallowed. “did they just call me ‘dunkle?’” Alphys nodded. He smiled. “that kid is a genius, i swear.” 

 

\---Tomorrow---

 

Frisk was walking on the schoolyard, talking adamantly with MK. Then they saw Logan. Richie was looming over him, and Logan was starting to look nervous. And trying not to get angry at the idiocy of his classmates. 

“Look, I am sure we can handle this like reasonable human beings. I don’t believe I have committed any slights against you, but if I have done so I do apologize. That was not my intent, I assure you.” 

You saw Richie’s arm raise as Logan talked. You were going to run towards them, but a blur of purple distracted you. Before Richie could lay a hand on Logan, he was on the ground cupping his nose, and Virgil was standing next to Logan, arm still extended in an impressive left hook. Logan looked at Virgil incredulously as Roman jogged over. Virgil looks in his hand in shock, then dug his hands in his pockets as the two of you ran over, curling in on himself.

“Are you two alright?” 

“Yo, Virge’, that was an awesome left hook! How’d you learn to do that?” 

He curled in a little bit more as he mumbled something. Roman asked him to repeat it. 

“I watched a couple YouTube videos on self-defense…” He muttered, looking down at the ground. Roman raised his eyebrows. 

“Really? Well, why didn’t you tell me that? You’re more like a knight than I thought!” Virgil put his hood on as he mumbled something about how he didn’t want to fight anybody. It was only then you realized how anxious he was getting. You looked at Patton, worried, who had run over from his passing period in lieu of his brother, the cardigan around his shoulders flapping in the wind. He noticed, then nudged Virgil with his shoulder while the others talked, who jumped at the contact, and automatically developed a defensive stance before he realized it was Patton. He chuckled nervously, taking his hood off and rubbing the back of his head. Roman noticed, immediately putting his hand over his mouth in shock and shame. “Oh Virgil! I’m so sorry! I was so caught up in the fact that you did that… I completely forgot about you.” He looked at his shoes, fiddling with his sweater hem. 

Then you noticed something. “Hold up- why do you guys all wear the same thing day after day? Hot Topic over there I understand, jackets can be worn over and over, but why do you all wear the same outfits day after day?” 

Roman straightened up, whipping out his phone. He looked through his pictures, then showed you a picture of his closet. It was filled about 75% with the same outfit he was wearing now: a red and white sweater with yellow accents, and white pants, somehow kept clean. The rest of the closet was filled with an assortment of costumes and theatre props, along with small variations of his current outfit in style, although the same in colour. 

“Nevermind.” 

Logan chuckled, an expression that blew the rest of you away mentally because Logan never chuckled or laughed unless it was a cleverly worded science or math joke that was delivered to him when he had his guard down. You thought you noticed Roman stumble a few paces back, his hand on his chest dramatically like he was preforming in a play. You all stared at him. He looked at the rest of them, surprised at their antics. “What is the dilemma? I do emote, just not habitually because emotions are fickle things; disrupting perfectly ordinary activities with nonsensical thoughts and actions.” 

That was such a Logan thing to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! You might have noticed some major tag changes- there are a lot of connected universes in this fic. I'm sorry if you don't like it, but throughout the process I got a lot of ideas that I have to throw in to keep it interesting and enjoyable. They do interfere with the characters, but nobody dies or anything (as of writing this), so they just keep the plot going. There is a lot in store for this fic, and I plan to be speeding up progress for the duration of the summer except for a few trips I am going to be taking. So while that does mean that chapter updates will be inconsistent, they will be frequent and hopefully will be enjoyable. I'm sorry for springing this onto you all, but this is a fic that I've been writing for the last six months and it has gone through some major changes and upgrades. 
> 
> I completely understand if you wish to not read once more than one or two universes get added, and that is completely OK and understandable. I'm just having fun with this and I write to both please you and myself, meaning I have to keep both of those things in balance. 
> 
> Anyway, rant aside, i do hope you continue to stick with this despite these major changes, and feel free to comment below on anything you want to talk about- be it future events in the fic, talking about changes, all of that. I want to make this fun for everyone, and take your opinions into account. Thank you for being so awesome and I hope you all enjoy how the story progresses from now on- it'll be very interesting... 
> 
> I basically posted this chapter to talk, but i'm going to be out of town until the next posting day, so this will have to hold you over. I'm sorry for anyone who reads at the speed of light like I do. I feel your pain.
> 
> As always, thank you all for reading and have a great day!


	28. Virgil The Vigilant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is basically a whole awkward scene edging on a panic attack. I'll put a recap in the end notes if you want to skip it.

You were waiting in the hall, trying to calm down while your teacher talked with the principal over the phone. You tried your breathing exercises. 

In for four…hold for seven… release for eight. 

In for four…hold for seven…release for eight. 

In for four…dang it. 

You swiveled your body in your chair, desperate for your earbuds. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow those on campus. You really needed some background noise. You tapped on your knees, trying to relive some of the excess energy. The receptionist shushed you. You settled for tugging at your sleeves nervously. Then pulling your fingers in hopes to make them crack. They didn’t, and that didn’t help. Your body reminded you that it needed oxygen. You complied. Then you settled back in your chair, sighing. You were bored. That was never good for someone with an anxious mind. You looked around, wishing Roman were here for once. You dug into your jean pockets, looking for something. Aha. There we go. You fiddled with the Rubix cube, hoping it would help. It did. You worked on solving it for the second time that day. It made a slight clicking noise, which led to the receptionist shushing you again. You sighed, pulling out some homework and putting the cube in your backpack. Might as well do something productive for once so you wouldn’t stress over it. 

\--------

You heard your name as you worked on your biology notes. You stood up, closing the book and swinging the backpack over your shoulder. You slipped into the room, slouched over at the prospect of social interaction. You dumped your stuff on the ground, and sat in the chair opposite Mr. Akron’s desk. He stared at you. 

“Virgil, Virgil, Virgil…” He clicked his tongue. You looked at him nervously. “So I heard you socked Richie in the nose.”

“He was about to punch Logan.” You muttered, softly, looking anywhere but at him. 

“Look at me.” You complied, shoulders tensing. “Was he about to punch Logan? Witnesses all say you ran over and punched him in the face for no reason.” You shook your head. 

“I was walking with my b-brother, Roman, when I saw Richie going over to Logan. He started to yell at him, while Logan tried to talk his way out of the conversation. He doesn’t like fighting unless it’s absolutely necessary. He says it’s ‘illogical’ because of the legal repercussions. Then I saw he was about to punch Lo. I ran over there before he could punch Logan, punched him in the nose with a left hook, and made sure Logan was okay. Richie got o-off the ground while I was doing so, and ran to the nurse’s office. I saw him with some ice on the way in. I tried to apologize too, but he wasn’t hearing any of it. E-everyone’s scared of him.” Stop stuttering you idiot! Focus on your breathing. 

“Where’d you learn to punch like that? I haven’t seen a left hook like that in years.”

You shrugged, trying to look nonchalant even though your pulse was racing. “I looked up s-some YouTube videos on self-defense a-a few weeks ago as a worst-case-scenario. It just happened, I c-can’t explain it.” He sighed. Stop stuttering!

“Look. Let’s say I believe that this was all a misunderstanding. Richie’s sent a lot of kids here before. You’ve never given me anything against you, and you take the time to do all your work and get good grades.” He motioned to your purple binder, which sat next to your backpack. You tried to smile, taking in a deep breath, hands knotting in the hoodie hem in your lap. He looked at you, worried. Your thoughts spun. No! Don’t worry about me…. don’t go to the trouble, I’ll just disappoint you…  
“Have you by any chance been diagnosed with anxiety Virgil?” The dreaded question. Your eyes widened slightly. 

“W-Well, n-not really, but-“ You swallowed. “I do feel n-nervous a lot, and s-sometimes try to d-do some of the breathing exercises from online if I get o-overwhelmed.” That was an understatement of the constant panic and anxiety. Damn it, don’t stutter! He’ll get suspicious! He nodded.

“Have you gotten overwhelmed recently?” You tried to shake your head, but a ‘yes’ fell out of your mouth. You clasped your hands over your mouth, trying to slow your breathing- too fast! Too fast! His brows furrowed. “Virgil? Are you okay? Nothing is wrong, I’m only asking a few questions. Is this too much for you?” You lowered your shaking hands and gripped the desk, trying to hide your white knuckles. You shook your head, taking in a shaky breath.

You’re fine. Just talking about Richie. You’re fine. You’re fine. Everything’s okay…

“I’m fine, th-thank you. A-Anyway, I haven’t been diagnosed with anxiety or anything, I just don’t want to bother anyone with stuff I can handle. I’ve developed some coping mechanisms, and done some research to see what can help. Music and stuff.” You stared at your hands as you muttered, nervous as all heck. 

“Do you have any earbuds or headphones?” You looked up, surprised at the question. 

“U-uh, yeah, at home. They aren’t allowed on campus, so I usually keep them at home.” 

“Well…” He dug around in his desk for a pen and some paper. He scribbled down something as he talked. “Did you know I also act as the school’s psychologist?” Your eyes widened in fear, and you clutched the desk harder, felling the heap wood creak a bit. 

“N-no. Am I going to g-get in trouble?” 

“No, no. Don’t worry about that. This is just a note to your parents to try talking to your doctor to see if you might have anxiety. Nothing to worry-“ He trailed off as he looked up, seeing your pale face and dilated pupils, crouched in your seat. You were breathing fast now. Damn it. You didn’t want any of this. You flipped up your hood in reflex, pulling on the strings to tighten it, causing your hair to flop over your eyes, forming a curtain to separate you from the cause of stress. But then you couldn't see anything!- calm down Virgil. Focus on your breathing.

One, two, three, four.... one, two. three. four, five, six, seven.... one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.... 

Mr. Akron looked on in worry, weighing his options. He would’ve normally told the kid who did that off, but something told him to stop before he made it worse. 

He was forced to sit as you calmed yourself down. You loosened the strings, though kept the hood over your head. “S-s-s-sorry about that…..” 

He barely heard the soft voice coming from the slumped teen before him, who was clinging to the sleeves of his hoodie. 

“That’s perfectly all right. Honestly, worse has happened in this office.” He pointed to a small ridge on his cheekbone. “Some kid nailed me there one day after being sent here for attacking another kid. Had a keychain on them and used it. Fortunately, we settled it out of court.” Virgil looked up slightly, eyes shining despite the situation. Logan was influencing him too much.

“D-did you need stitches? How long ago was that?” 

“No, I only needed some superglue, and it was last schoolyear, around May I believe. Did you know that superglue can seal minor wounds, like papercuts? Works wonders.” Virgil cocked his head, taking in the information for the future. 

“Huh. I’ll throw that in my bag, along with the ductape and bubblewrap.” 

They both chuckled, glad that he was feeling god enough to talk. They heard the loud ringing of the bell. Virgil winced at the sound, then gathered up his bag and binder, taking the note and slipping it inside. “I don’t want to take up any more of your time. Thank you Mr. Akron, but I kind of have to get to History now.” The principal smiled, waved, and then picked up his phone as Virgil left. 

“Yeah, this is Bob. Can you remind Virgil Sanders to get a note I gave him to his parents? Maybe tell Logan Sanders to remind him. Thanks Chappy.” Virgil’s shoes squeaked as he walked away, nervous as all heck to give that note to his parental units. But he had to. So he would, with or without Logan’s reminder. Granted, if he didn’t, something bad could happen, so this was the safer option. 

Well, that was what he hoped. 

\-------

 

Gaster was working at Alphys’s Lab. Which was fine, sure, but there were people constantly walking in and out. Two of those Sanders brothers were coming in and out- one of them asking a lot of questions about the internship program Alphys was trying out. Even though he was in 6th grade, he had a better grasp of the fundamentals of magic than humans two, three times his age. Granted, his brother was looking at everything for most of the tour, but he did throw a couple key insights into the conversation. How he was the older one of the two he never would have guessed. Another one who was a few years older- their cousin? Dragged them out at some point to go to Starbucks, but the one in the tie said he would come back after he did his homework and escaped the others. Out the door they were talking about another one named Dee who was visiting soon… how many children were there? They had a very extended family that was for sure- well, in a small town that is. They were nothing compared to monsters. 

Gaster was running a few tests on the one made of blue fire… Borealis was their name? They didn’t seem to be around much, with school and random activities they were roped into. Odd. They seemed to have been a great friend of Frisk when they were going through the underground… not to mention all the other children that went through. How Alphys managed to restore them he still couldn’t fathom. Maybe he couldn’t get a read on…Aroura? Borealis!- Borealis, because they were not present through the other timelines. Which was strange, the abrupt shift in the timelines, which had been relatively consistent for a while… He really should be writing this down… He scribbled down a few symbols as he typed on his computer, Borealis having left sometime while he was thinking. 

A bell rang as the door opened, leaving Alphys, Sans, and… one of the other Sanders. This one in all black. How many were there? They were probably not on a tour, one of them could have handled that, and the Sanders boy didn’t seem all that interested in science. They led him to another room, talking adamantly about… Anime Music? He did not see that coming. They disappeared into the break room, then the adjoining offices. He decided to get a cup of coffee while he was distracted. He got up and walked towards the break room coffee machine donated by Muffet, dropping in a few G into the tip jar in reflex as he grabbed a cup. He watched the spiders retrieve the money as faint words filtered through the door on the other side of the room. They really should get those soundproofed. 

“so how ya been? how’s school and stuff?”

“Uh, not that bad? I mean, the subjects are fascinating but the early mornings are meh. I wish I could bring my headphones, but other than that it’s manageable.” 

“S-So your name is V-Virgil? Virgil S-Sanders? Your b-brothers and cousin were here earlier…”

“Huh. What a coincidence. Lo and Pat I can see, but Naptime? That’s a shocker.” 

“he apparently dragged them out to starbucks against their will.” 

“Ah.”

“W-wait, Naptime? What’s that a-about?”

“He’s a nightowl, and sometimes falls asleep in the middle of the day if he doesn’t have caffeine that morning. We also call him Sleep, but Naptime is more entertaining. Same with his brother, Dee. He’s always sarcastic and likes to do mind games and pranks, so we call him Deceit, Dee for short. They don’t like giving out their names. It’s a thing for our family. Don’t know why. Long tradition.” 

“huh.” 

“W-weird.”

“Shoot, Roman used to go by Princey and Sir-Sing-a-Lot. He still calls me Hot Topic and Panic! At The Everywhere sometimes. It’s rather entertaining. Patton loves it, purely because of the puns.” 

“you humans have a lot of odd things you do.”

“Tell me about it. Logan once did a hour long rant on why Kirby, you know, from the video game, was actually a single-celled organism. I actually learned something.” 

Sans raised his eyebrows. “he should be an intern here then. we have a position open.” 

“He’s already been here five times in the last three days to learn everything about this place. I think he’s interested.” 

Gaster finished his coffee, and put a reminder in his phone for the soundproofing as he walked back to his desk. There was a post-it by his computer. What the hell did ‘Evil Pineapples’ mean? He really needed some sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary (If you skipped it)
> 
> Virgil was brought in to see the principal after punching the bully who almost punched Logan. He was thrown into a panic attack by all of the questioning and his own thoughts, but he managed to calm down in time to get to history class. The principal was very understanding and he got off with a warning and a note to see a psychologist for the anxiety symptoms, as the principal was also the acting Psychologist of the school due to budget cuts.
> 
> Later that day, Virgil went to the Lab to see Sans and Alphys, both with some psychology training. They talked about life, and Gaster reminded himself to get some soundproofing tiles due to sound quality of the office walls. 
> 
> \------
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and feel free to comment on anything you would like for the future, or where you think this may be going! there's a lot in store, and I hope you like it despite all of the major changes. 
> 
> Stay DETERMINED, and have a good day!


	29. Lightning and Thunder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! This is really short, so I'm posting two today!  
> I hope you enjoy!

It was PTA day. Again. The first Wednesday of the month. Fortunately, Virgil was in the mood for calling people out on their bullshit. He walked down the halls of the school building, texting Toriel. Frisk was sick with a cold that was going around, but apparently they were having fun Face-Timing with a couple of their friends with the same issue. 

He walked through the library doors, snagging a donut as he went down to his customary seat on the right side of the table. One of the other monster parents, a flame elemental, sat next to him. He was surprised when Grillby walked in and sat next to them, then remembered his daughter, Flitwick, went to the school as well. They were really big Harry Potter fans it seemed. Or it was just a coincidence. They all waited for the head of the PTA. Linda Lilly Daniels. Her son, Richie, was a missed naming opportunity. And a huge jerk, but that wasn’t the issue. She sashayed in, practically doused in that super fragrant lotion that made your sinuses want to curl up and die. Even if you didn’t have a very good sense of smell. Or no nose. A couple people coughed as she sat down at the head of the table and slid a stack of paperwork to the Secretary, who sighed softly and started to do the papers. There was a tense silence. 

“Hello! It’s great to see you all, and I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week.” The smile stapled to her face had nothing on the fakeness of her voice. You could basically hear the mental wincing from across the table. Sans spoke up, gaining confidence from the tense silence. Some things needed to be said.

“you know, ruby, you don’t have to do that. it’s not your paperwork, and not your job.” 

There was a sharp intake of breath from a few people as Linda whipped her head towards him, smile melting off her face like candle wax. 

“Excuse me… skeleton…, but I am under the assumption that what I say goes around here. I am the President after all.” And you’re just a monster.

“nah, it seems to me like you’re a dictator.” He checked off his phalanges as he spoke. “you have absolute power and threw the idea of democracy out of the window long ago, don’t give a crap about anyone other than yourself and those like you, and treat us all like trash under your corrupt rule. plain and simple, really.” Her smile returned, cruel and twisted. 

“Well, I believe that the facts speak for themselves Sans. Everything is going smoothly, we haven’t had any incidents since… that day… and we always end up getting what we need done. Maybe you just want monsters like you to be given higher priority than us humans. However, that will not happen. We were here first, and it will. Stay. That. Way. Am I clear?” 

“as clear as a glass of your moldy tea carol. we just want equality, like the several thousand humans you push under you just because they’re a minority. like, sorry about this, ruby. just because she is lower than your status, you treat her like a means to your end.” 

“Well-“ 

Sans stood up, eyes glinting with repressed magic and eyelights gone. He was starting to get pissed. He’d been dealing with this for months, and he couldn't stay quiet.

“No Linda. Open your eyes. It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. On days like these, ideologies like yours…” His eyelights shut off completely, and his eyes flared with magic. She looked scared at his expression, and the fact he was capitalizing his words. “need to be burning in hell. Come and smell the roses.” She tried to hang onto the last shreds of her credibility. 

“Well, you are just throwing a tantrum because you are not in control. You filthy monsters need to be taught some manners, along with your place in life.”

“No.” He was so pissed. His gravity magic activated, causing pens and papers to start to rise in the air. “I will freaking fight anyone I need to to get what those around me need. Go through a thousand courtrooms. Slay a thousand dragons. Get my point across.” He blinked. Everything shut off- pens and papers falling to the floor, the grim aura around him fading. His eyes were still dark. “now if you will excuse me, my child is sick, and I need to get them some medicine on the way home.” 

He stalked out of the room, expression foul. He didn’t notice the thunderous applause that followed his departure. 

\----------------

Virgil and Patton looked over at the retreating figure. Virgil was breathing slightly deeper than usual, but otherwise fine, especially in the face of such a magic surge. He slipped on his headphones, letting them drown out everything else. He began his homework. 

Patton looked at his brother in worry. He had been basically living in those headphones for the last week, ever since the day he punched Richie. He scooted closer to Virgil, and was met with no resistance. He worked on a Biology project as his thoughts spiraled. 

\-------------------

Alphys was looking over the security cameras. She looked at them both in SOUL-vision, and normal. She looked at the stuff from yesterday, when the Sanders kids were in, and when they had talked to Virgil. Something caught her eye. 

“N-no.” She squinted harder at the screen, tapping it a few times. “N-no, that can’t be r-right…” 

Her SOUL froze as she looked at what should be impossible. “H-how? I-I h-have t-to text Sans… a-and the queen….” 

As she pulled out her phone, she felt like there was going to be a big change to everything they had known in the eight months they had been free. 

Oh boy. How was Undyne going to take it? And Frisk?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	30. Magic?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Arc #4!

Sans stared at her. “are you sure?” She nodded. 

“L-Look at the cameras…” She pulled up the images she was looking at. Sans’s eyelights shut off. 

“they look so… naive too. you’re sure they know nothing about the power they hold?” 

Alphys shrugged, clicking her claws together nervously. “I-it could be anything, b-but I doubt it. R-Roman would be showing off and L-Logan would be storming in here f-for us to explain how it worked.” 

Sans sighed, holding his head in his hands. “how the fuck could these kids have magic? sure, the souls did when they were alive, but there was more magic in the environment back then because it was half a century ago at least. the media’s going to have a field day with this, and that’s not including how it’s going to affect their psyche. what about frisk? did you see anything with them, other than the fact they managed to learn royal magic and the saves? anything of their own? bullets or something?” Alphys shrugged again. 

“W-well, F-Frisk hasn’t been in here in over two weeks, being sick and busy and all th-that, s-so they could too, I don’t know.” 

Gaster opened the door, not apologetic in the least. “We really need to soundproof these rooms. Anyway, did I hear something about magic while I was getting coffee?” 

“look at this dadster.” Sans scooted over so he could see. Gaster raised his brows. 

“Fascinating. Have you told them about this?”

“i think we have to.” 

 

\------------------

 

“Impossible. Falsehood. There must be some kind of error. This could never happen.” Logan was pacing the room, waving his hands.

Virgil was silent, Headphones around his neck, picking at his hoodie sleeves.

“Wait… so we are mages? Like the Great Merlin and the brave Harry Potter?”

“Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Patton was squealing in excitement. Then he coughed. 

“You alright Patton?” Thomas was here too, even if they didn’t have a read on him yet. Moral support. 

Patton nodded. “I got too excited.” He said hoarsely. 

Virgil was quiet, looking at the floor. Sans noticed. “you alright virge?” 

Virgil finally looked up. “Sorry if this comes across as rude, but I don’t think I could possibly be a wizard.” His voice was soft, eyes traveling nervously.

Sans shrugged. “evidence points to yes.” 

Logan whipped around. “May I see this evidence? Because this sounds preposterous, and I cannot believe these claims without proof.” He looked like the ‘OBJECTION!’ guy from those video games- the one in the blue suit….. Ace Attorney! That’s what it was!

Sans shrugged. “okay.” He led him into the office with the security footage. 

A few minutes later, Logan came out, slightly paler than usual. He sat down. “Color me impressed.” 

Virgil held his hands up. “Wait wait wait wait wait. How the heck? This doesn’t make any sense. Do we have magic ancestors? Were we exposed to magic after the Barrier fell and you guys came up here? Is it completely coincidental?” 

Alphys chimed in. “P-Probably a mix of the first and the second one. Th-the difference in your ages means that i-it is unlikely to be coincidental. This w-was probably just unlocked.” 

Virgil blinked a few times, digging his hands in his pockets. “Oh.”

“Are there any examples of such magic? According to your history you were sealed Underground by human wizards, so is there anything we can look for?” 

“Yeah! Do we have cool bullets or fireballs or something?” 

Gaster raised his hands to quiet them down. “Woah woah. First, Logan, you are correct in the historical aspects. And Roman, the type of magic is purely individual, but the way it is used can depend in the user’s SOUL traits.” He pointed to Roman. “You have Justice,” He pointed to Patton. “You have Integrity,” He pointed to Thomas. “You have Kindness,” He pointed to Logan. “You have Perseverance,” He pointed to Virgil last. “And you have… Bravery I believe. This is showing some interference…. yes…no… I believe so.” They all blinked, but Virgil froze. 

“Bravery? There must be some mistake. I am the opposite of brave. I’m an anxious mess.” Gaster shrugged.

“On the contrary, although you do exhibit those traits, you also have enhanced flight-or-fight responses and a headstrong personality.”

Virgil shook his head again. “No, I just do what I can so nobody gets hurt, or at least making it so it is the least possible scenario.” He put his hands on his chest. “That isn’t me. Maybe Romano, or even Patton or Thomas, but I’d lean more towards Perseverance more than anything else. I have a strong survival instinct, not recklessness or nobility.” Gaster shrugged, looking at the camera’s current feed. He froze. 

“Um… Sans? Can you get a read on Virgil? I believe this is malfunctioning.” Sans looked confused, but acquiesced. His eye flashed yellow and blue momentarily. The others, except for Virgil, jumped. Virgil just flicked his eyes towards it, then looked back towards the Doctor. Sans’s eyelights went dark. 

“well then. that is new.” Virgil looked in his direction. 

“What? What is it?” He spoke quickly, hands curling around the edges of his sleeves. Sans’s eyelights returned.

“your soul is fine. don’t worry. it’s just…really really dark purple. perseverance usually is a light violet.” Virgil blinked. 

“What does that mean?” 

Gaster shrugged. Sans tilted his head. “i believe it says, according to some soul mumbo jumbo i can see….vigilance? do we have any records of a vigilant soul trait?” Patton snickered. Logan grinned, then covered his mouth with his hand. Roman looked at them.

“What is it Mc Specks and Calculator Watch?” 

They both spoke at the same time. “The word Virgil is supposed to have come from the word Vigilance.” Patton smiled at Logan, who looked away, adjusting his glasses. 

“Well that was purpl-exing.” Logan facepalmed. 

“Intriguing. And to answer your question, I would have to search the Archives. I believe they might have fused with the common conception of Perseverance. We just had such a small sample size that two types of purple could have gone unnoticed in the years since most records were destroyed in the war.” Gaster stared into space. Alphys was writing frantically. Thomas asked the key question. 

“So how do we unearth our magic?” 

\-----------

Virgil was very uncomfortable with this. He stared at Sans. “You want me to fight you?”

Sans shrugged. “i’m not going to go full force, just see if a life-or-death situation will trigger it.” 

Virgil paled. “Life or death?!” Sans smiled.

“yup.” Virgil felt his breathing quicken. 

“No, no no no no, no no. I can’t do that. I c-can’t.” Tears pricked his eyes. He had tied his hoodie around his waist, and he clutched the sleeves for dear life. 

“kid? don’t worry. you won’t get hurt, i promise. and if you do, i can heal you.” His left hand glowed green. Virgil relaxed a little bit, but was still incredibly on edge. His mind raced. 

“But what if I hurt you? I’m a human. Can’t you guys get hurt by us easily?” Sans looked at his hand, as if looking at something. 

“yeah, you could… but i know you won’t. it has to be intentional.” 

That didn’t help at all. Accidents happen. Things go wrong. He swallowed hard, and got into a fighting stance. 

“you ready?” 

Virgil nodded. No. But he was as ready as he ever would be. Sans smiled. 

“here we go.”

 

The world went dark. 

 

Virgil looked at the area around him. A deep, almost indigo-purple heart floated above his chest. He moved from side to side. He tried to jump. Two transparent purple wing-like shapes formed, creating a body-encompassing shield around him. He saw a meter by the HP bar by is feet. It declined rapidly, along with the sense of adrenaline he had. Cool. He looked through the feathers at Sans, who was smiling his usual smile. 

“i see you’ve figured out some stuff. that was fast.” Virgil didn’t know what to say. He tried to speak. 

“I-I still don’t really want to fight you.” 

Sans shrugged. “that’s fine. we can just practice dodging and stuff.” Virgil’s mouth hung open. 

“Wha- Wait really?” 

Sans shrugged. “sure. i was just trying to get you into the encounter mode.” Virgil facepalmed, then stood at attention. Sans waved his hand. A line of bones ran across the ground, and he simply stepped to the side. Sans shrugged. “basics 101.” They continued the trials, becoming slowly harder and harder. However, it seemed he was decent at dodging. Sweet. 

\-----------

Roman stood with Undyne. He was grinning as hugely as she was, holding the samurai sword Papyrus had gotten for him. Although she had looked at it strangely before they started, they were having fun sparring. Although they had yet to go into encounter mode, she told Roman what it would entail. Yellow bullets… not bad, but he preferred the sword. He wished that he could make a dragon or something instead. That would be cool. 

\------------

Logan was next to Gaster in the lab. They were taking the obvious approach, and learning while doing. He moved the heart-shaped SOUL along the three lines. They had yet to add bones to dodge, but that was fine. Getting a strong foundation was the key to anything after all. 

\------------

Patton was having fun cooking with Papyrus. They dumped noodles into the pot as he slid the cookies into the oven. After he had convinced Papyrus to tone the heat down to moderate levels, they were having fun cooking; he drunk lemonade and cracked food puns, to Papyrus’s chagrin. He stirred the sauce. They listened to the music over the speaker Pap had in his room. It was Mettaton shaped, to Patton’s delight. After finishing and eating the food, they decided to actually fight. He jumped over the attacks the skeleton threw at him, then they settled for target practice with the bones Papyrus had stocked. They ate the newly finished cookies, and drank more lemonade. This was a great day. 

\----------

Thomas was watching Anime with Alphys and Frisk. They were going to finish the first season of Full Metal Alchemist, when he remembered the reason they were there. Weren’t they going to try to spar or something? Alphys stuttered a bit when he asked, but Frisk dragged him into the backyard, grinning madly. They conjured a fireball. Thomas’s mouth dropped open. Woah…..

They triggered an encounter, then explained the rules. They were really simple…. like a video game! Yeah, that was a piece of cake! He tried doing what Frisk did. 

Nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing happened. He shrugged as Frisk’s smile slipped. 

“Oh- Frisk, don’t worry- I can manage just fine! Throw me your worst!”

He took a defensive stance, grabbing a stick off of the ground. Frisk had a look of contemplation on their face then shook themselves out of it. They tossed some fireballs at him, keeping it easy. He was able to block most of them, since Roman was interested in swordplay and dragged all of them outside at one point or another, and he was good at defense.

Then he took a hit. He winced, gripping his arm and dropping the stick. Frisk rushed towards him, conjuring a green fireball. He would’ve shrunken away, except this one…. helped? Weird. He felt better. Like he had just eaten some Nice Cream! 

Magic was so cool…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed!  
> Comments make my day, so feel free to comment below if you want to!
> 
> Here's my tumblr if you want to see it- there's not much but I have one short on there, and I plan to make more eventually and post them on Ao3.   
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42


	31. The Conference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the cliffhanger- I'm going to be away for three weeks and will be posting less frequently. I might be able to post once if I am somewhere with wi-fi, but that isn't guaranteed. Enjoy!

Frisk was going to the Capital today. They were super nervous. As they put on their navy blue and red striped jacket and red tie, they realized what they set out to do today in its entirety. 

They were going to talk about magic. Human magic.

And the Sanders were going to come. 

 

The uncertainty of the situation you faced filled you with  
Determination?  
File: SAVE 

You felt the familiar rush of energy as you went downstairs. Time to get this show on the road. 

To your surprise, the boys were all there. Virgil was forced into a black polo shirt with a purple tie, Logan looked happy as a clam in his usual outfit, Roman wore a white suit with a red tie and a carnation in the lapel- show-off as always- and Patton was in his usual grey cardigan and blue shirt combo. You sat down at the table; greeting them and grabbing a granola bar from the pantry. You got some for the others, but Logan was the only one who ate it. They all talked. 

“Proper nutrition is important.”

“Lo, we’re too nervous to eat.”

“Well yeah we need to eat, but I simply can’t right now. You understand, right?”

Patton lifted a ziploc bag. “I have cookies for the drive if you all get hungry later!” You heard talking from the driveway. You snuck over there. 

“Worst case scenario?” Toriel was speaking to Sans, Undyne, Alphys, and Mettaton. 

“don’t worry t. we’ve got measures in place. if the dogs, grillbz, and borealis fail, then mtt goes in with alph. if they fail, undyne goes in with gerson. if somehow they fail, which is unlikely to happen, i go in with paps and gaster. we’ll be fine.” And if everything goes horribly wrong, you can LOAD. 

Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.

\-----------

They sat in the car, finishing the last of the cookies Patton had brought. They saw the Capital Building in the distance. To nobody’s surprise, there were some protesters. Somehow the news about why they were here had leaked. The Dog Guard stood at attention, forming a barrier with their combined magic. The car drove inside. They all got out, and went down a long hallway to an auditorium. 

People packed the rows of seats all the way back, except for the first two rows, which were reserved for your group. Virgil looked like he wished he had his hoodie. You filed to the front, and sat down. A man in a grey suit began to speak into the microphone. Everyone began to quiet down.

“Hello! Well, this seems to be working, so let’s move on right ahead. As most of you probably know because of the leak on social media a few weeks ago, we are here to talk about a magic resurgence in the modern age not strictly limited to monsters. More specifically, a development in human magic.”

The room surged into an uproar. It appeared that the general topic had been leaked, but not the specifics. Interesting. The man tapped on the microphone a few times. When that didn’t work, he simply moved two microphones together. Feedback rang through the hall, causing Virgil to clamp his hands over his ears, along with most of the audience. It was dead quiet now. The man coughed. 

“Anyway, as I was saying-“

A reporter in the signature NMC orange interrupted him from a few rows behind you. “What do you mean, Human Magic? This died out after the Monsters were Sealed, correct?”

He took it in stride. “Yes, you are correct. However, the ability to harness innate magical power was passed on from generation to generation. Because of the limited levels of magic in the ecosystem due to the creation of the aforementioned Barrier, these traits stayed dormant until now. Please wait to say any further questions until we enter the discussion point of this conference.” There were a couple mutters at this, but ultimately everyone managed to withhold their comments. “Excellent. Let us continue. May I introduce Mx. Frisk C. Dreemurr, Ambassador of Monster-Human Relationships.” You stood up, notecards in hand, to the sound of applause. You went up to the microphone, lowering it considerably with a shrug. There were some chuckles. You readied your notecards. 

“Hey guys! As you can see by the sheer quantity of notecards I am forced to carry, we will be discussing a lot of stuff. As Mr. Rekshaw said, please direct any questions at me when I reach my discussion index card. That may be quite a while, folks, as that is card #27. My apologies to those who have deadlines.” You equipped the Speaker Microphone, attaching it to your lapel so you could move. 

“That’s better. Now I can move. Anyway, what Mr. Rekshaw was saying is true. Magic, more specifically Human Magic, has re-emerged in recent months. With me are some of my friends, who recently discovered their abilities. Unless they give me permission, please don’t direct questions at them. They are overwhelmed enough as it is.”

There were a couple titters and taunts, mostly from those in orange. You continued. “There has also been the discovery of a new SOUL trait, newly classified as Vigilance. A simple definition of the word Vigilance is the action of keeping watch for possible dangers, but those with the Vigilance Trait so far have been categorized as observant, with enhanced flight-or-flight reflexes and a strong protective instinct. However, not much is known due to the small sample size of Vigilant SOUL Traits. I’m sorry if that doesn’t cover all that much for your reports. Anyway, along with the discovery of Vigilance, there is the continuation of the seven other SOUL traits being active in one’s magic. Justice have their own bullets, Kindness have a shield, ect. They are roughly similar to the magical abilities of monsters with the same magical traits. If my friend Undyne may demonstrate the Green Magic Ability…”

Undyne simply stood up and conjured a shimmering green shield. Then she sat back down. 

“Thank you Undyne. As demonstrated, those with the green trait can create shields, but they also have the ability to heal, which is why many monsters with this trait are considering medical or educational careers now that we have gotten aboveground.” You continued onwards, giving facts to the audience.

\-----------

“…and that was how ghost food tastes so good, even if it has absolutely no substance whatsoever and does nothing nutritional for you.” You shuffled the notecards.  
“And the time has come. We are at card #27. Questions?”

The room exploded in an uproar. You picked a reporter. “You in the lime green tie?” 

The room quieted. “Thank you. That was a lovely presentation Mx. Dreemurr. You were talking about the human magic capabilities. Is it possible to have a demonstration?” Frisk looked at their friends, all of whom nodded except Virgil, who shrugged. You took that as a yes. 

“Thank you, and I guess we can do one.” The room cheered, and you waved up your friends. They came up to the stage. 

“This is Logan, Patton, Roman, and Virgil. They are brothers, both explaining why they look so similar and why we believe the ability to conjure magic may be genetic.” 

You motioned to Logan, who took out a folded piece of paper and stuck it to his hand with some purple strings. Then to Roman, who summoned a yellow sword. He had made a samurai sword his bullet of choice? Cool. Then Patton, who concentrated and teleported a foot or so away. Dang. That was awesome. You jumped in. 

“And let it be told that he can only teleport a few feet at most. Take off your tinfoil hats.” There was some laughter. Then you motioned to Virgil, who was sweating slightly. He created a pair of translucent feathered purple wings, which fizzled out after a second or two. He leaned over to the microphone, to his brothers’ surprise.  
“And no, I don’t think I can fly. They’re just fancy shields, as far as I know.” The audience muttered. You turned to the audience. 

“You guys know I was able to learn the magic of the Royal Family a couple months ago. That’s no secret. But I’ll show it off anyway.” You summoned a fireball. Then you bowed, and unequipped the Speaker’s Microphone. “Thank you for listening.” 

\--Virgil POV---

Your group swept out of the hall to see chaos. People crowded the halls. 

You felt the magic of the entire group set up a barricade. Well, everyone except you. Shoot- even Frisk was using their fireballs, and Roman had his sword. Logan held a whip-like strand, and Patton was holding one of Undyne’s shields, as was Thomas. You were herded to the car. Then you felt a hand on your shoulder. You winced at the contact, then felt fear as you were dragged off your feet. Your magic instantly kicked in, creating a cocoon around you. 

Then you saw the gun in the hands of one of the picket people. 

It was pointed at Sans. 

Sans was looking the other direction. 

Sans only had 1 HP.

Only Alphys and Frisk had noticed you. 

The shield was on the other side. Only a few spears and bones were over here.

Time seemed to freeze as you saw the fingers move around the gun. 

You leapt in front of the skeleton instinctively.

Your shield shattered, even though the bullet bounced off into the asphalt. 

Fuck. 

Then the world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I was debating on leaving this as a cliff-hanger but it would be less dramatic if I didn't so I had to. I will try to find a time where I can upload, but that might not happen for another week or two. I'm sorry!  
> Thank you for reading, and have a nice day!
> 
>  
> 
> I will give you a hint though. 
> 
> ( !yrrow t'noD !eid t'nseod eH.)


	32. Little Potatoman!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I edited a lot- I noticed recently that a lot of dialogue was missing, so I went and fixed that! ANd in the previous chapter Thomas was supposed to be without powers, so I fixed that and from now on he shouldn't have any abilities. Sorry about the ret-con, but it was editing that didn't end up happening before I posted it and I somehow missed it. Sorry for any inconvenience.*

Virgil woke up to beeping. He tried to sit up, but he simply didn’t have the strength to. So he lay back on the pillows, wondering where the frick he was. Then he saw the IV in his arm. And the machines around him. Huh. So he really had been hit.

Wait.

He’d been hit.

Oh god.

Were the others okay? Did that guy with the gun hurt anyone else? Why was there so much noise outside his room? Who was shouting?

Logan stormed in, face slightly redder than usual. He saw that you were awake, and stopped short, straightening his tie. “Um… hello Virgil. It’s good to see you up.” He was going to say more when Patton ran in and almost tackled you. Ow. That was painful. Ow. You realized you couldn’t speak, even though you could open your mouth. You smiled at him weakly instead, noticing a pad of paper on the chair beside the bed. You motioned towards it. Logan caught on immediately, and brought it towards you. You scribbled intently.

 [Why can’t I speak?]

They pursed their lips in sync. You furrowed your brow.

Patton nodded slowly. “Kiddo… did you not notice the bandages?”

Then you realized the reason you couldn’t get up earlier. There were thick bandages around your throat, heavy and itchy.

[What? Did I get injured in my neck or something?] 

“A piece of magical shrapnel hit your neck in just the right spot. We couldn’t heal it so you could speak again.” They probably tried until they were exhausted though, if you knew Undyne and Toriel. You furrowed you brows. This was taking too long.

 [How?]

Logan raised his eye “A piece of magical shrapnel hit your neck in just the right spot. We couldn’t heal it so you could speak again.” They probably tried until they were exhausted though, if you knew Undyne and Toriel. You furrowed you brows. This was taking too long.

[What about ASL? That could work.]

Logan raised his brows. “True. If you wish, I could acquire some of these books at the library and bring them to you. Then you would have something to do other than schoolwork.” You tried to groan. More schoolwork? His grades would plummet for sure.

Then Patton smiled. “Fortunately, we have gotten permission to videotape our classes for you. All of us share one class with you except Psych, and Chara has gotten permission to tape that one too, along with getting your homework.”

Your mouth fell open. They did this for you? Then you had an idea. You snapped your fingers, and scribbled on the notepad.

[Can you pass me my phone? I might have a short-term solution.]

Logan did so. You opened the App Store, and downloaded the app you were looking for. You typed in what you wanted to say. Fortunately, you were a fast typer. A robotic voice came out of the phone.

Logan made an ‘ok’ motion with his hand.

“Not the best solution, but a necessity.” You heard a knock at the door. You typed.

[Come on in.]

The door opened, and a group of people entered. Fortunately, this was a large room. There was Frisk, Toriel, your cousins, your uncle, Doctor Gaster… you were shocked. You typed.

[Why are there so many of you?]

He realized what he “said.” He frantically typed.

[Not to seem rude or anything. I’m just surprised.]

Toriel held a pie. “We wished to let you know how many of us care for you. We wanted to say hello, and see how you were doing.” You blinked a few times.

“Yeah, Kiddo. I know I’m your uncle, but we all care for you.” Dr. Picani added, flashing his signature smile, his favourite orange pen half-hanging out of his pocket. He knew who had been shouting out there. Man, Picani and Logan could get mad if they wanted to…

[Not like I can say hi back properly, but hello. Thanks for coming, I guess. You didn’t have to.]

Frisk waved their hand in a “pish-tosh” motion. “Oh please. You risked your life to save us. Why wouldn’t we come and say hi, at the very least?”

Your cousin spoke up, taking off his sunglasses and setting down his Starbucks cup. “And, you know, we care about you and crap. Jeeze Anx. I leave for a week and you go and get shot? Where’s the love?”

[Thanks Naptime.] Sleep scowled. Dee continued.

“We’d leave you here to recover without so much as a how ya feeling. Do you not know us?”

A nurse came in. “This reunion is great and all, but you will have to limit the number of visitors. Our hours are closing soon, so only six or seven. Maybe up to ten if you’re desperate.” She walked out. Sans spoke up.

“i’m staying. anyone else want to call it?” Thomas raised his hand. So did Roman, Patton, and Undyne. Logan did as well. To your surprise, so did Alphys and Frisk. Toriel simply placed down the pie.

“You should be able to eat my child, so do have some before you retire to bed. I shall drop this off, then go back.” The rest of the group filed out, in their place a bunch of golden flowers and cards sat on the windowsill. Picani waved.

“I have a client in an hour- but feel better Kiddo. I’ll come by later.” He left one of Virgil’s favourite things- a black rose and a white rose in a pot. He felt DETERMINATION from the symbolism.

Undyne sat down on one of the chairs. So did Frisk and Alphys. Logan and Roman stood. Thomas, Sans, and Patton sat at the end of the bed. It was getting crowded. Fortunately, this was a huge bed. Undyne said what they were all thinking.

“Why the heck did you let yourself get shot?” They all nodded. Sans piped up.

“don’t get me wrong- i appreciate you saving my life. but it knocked things out of proportion way more than a set of damaged vocal cords.” Frisk nodded. His brothers looked confused, but they nodded as well.

Frisk saw the bright side, as usual. “Fortunately, I know ASL. Chara, Corsiva and I can teach you!” Patton nodded.  
“We can all learn it!’

Alphys nodded as well. “A-a lot of monsters k-know it already, due to the l-limitations of some monster anatomy, so we can understand it just fine.”  
That was good news. He’d still carry around the pen and pad, along with his phone. Just in case. Logan nodded.

“Understandable.”

There was a tense silence. Then Thomas spoke up. He was trying to sound stern, but it didn’t really work.  
“Don’t ever do anything like that again, you hear me? We thought….” He trailed off. “We thought you would die you dipstick. Don’t do that to us again. Please.” Virgil’s eyes widened.

No! No No No No No. That was off of his to-do list. He didn’t want them to get hurt. That’s why he jumped ahead in the first place. He was so sorry. He made to bring his hood over his head, then realized he was in a hospital gown.

[Is my jacket here?]

Patton winced. “Unfortunately, it was pretty much ruined. However…..” He went over to a bag in the corner, taking out a new jacket. This one was black and purple. “Here you go! It’s a new one!” He took it. It was different, but he liked it. He draped it over his lap. Not like he could put it on with the IV and all.

[Thanks Pat. I really like it.]

Man this sucked. It was hard to communicate, and even then he couldn’t express what he thought. He sighed.

[Sorry if this sounds insensitive, but this sucks.]

“Fair enough kiddo. You have the right to complain.”

He had an idea. [Do you mind passing me some of the pie? You guys can help yourselves too.]

Frisk cut the pie expertly with a plastic fork, then put the slices on paper plates. They handed them out.

[Monster food has a healing factor, right? It may not do much, but a little goes a long way, right?]

Sans looked skeptical. “i mean, you might be able to make sounds eventually, but that would take a while of slow healing with your current monster food intake. you’re free to try though.”

You ate the pie anyway. If it helped, it would help; if it didn’t, it was pie and pie tasted good. His needs were quite simple in that regard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found WIFI! The modern nectar of the gods! Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading!


	33. This Dude Is On Fire!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *Edited Virgil's speech- I noticed it had disappeared for some reason.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Not literally. Well- no one was set on fire. People are made of fire- nevermind.)  
> *EDIT: I edited Virgil's speech because it disappeared. Totally my fault for putting it in the wrong kind of brackets. Sorry.*

Virgil found great solace in Grillby of all people. As a child, he had gotten a bad monster throat infection that ruined his vocal cords, leaving him without the ability to speak. So he and Frisk, along with a multitude of other people, taught him ASL.

It was a very slow process. At first, his fingers felt massive and hands clunky, even though he has the smallest hands and fingers of his family. He signed haltingly, frequently getting frustrated at forgetting letters and simple words. It was like learning to talk all over again. He slowly learned the alphabet. Then nouns. And simple phrases. Then he slowly began to make his own sentences. It amused him in the middle of the day, when he had finished his schoolwork, to prop his phone up on his knees and take a video to send to his friends. He’d sign a small message, then text the rest.

He couldn’t thank Logan enough for the books. He even got a few online that he could keep.

Or his family for their support.

Or Patton for his endless supply of cookies when he visited after school everyday.

Or his friends, who cheered him up anytime. Sans even managed to teleport Undyne in here at three AM to say hello and rant about Anime. He didn’t even care about the fact that he got five hours of sleep that night.

It was great to not be alone.

 

\--------------

After two months or so of having his classes being e-mailed to him in a video format, he was discharged from the hospital so he could go for real. He had to get a check-up every week or so, but it wasn’t that bad. Patton even learned how to use monster ingredients to make healing cookies.

Now the people at school were better than he thought they would be. Most of them were rather accommodating, and his teachers let him use his phone app to give answers to questions. A few were exceptions, not even bothering to try to understand his input or even ignoring him entirely like he wasn’t even there, but they were the exception, not the rule.

He’d get nervous whenever he had to show the faded scar on his throat. However, after a couple of weeks, the questions ebbed away for the most part. Every day he faced challenges, but he managed to get around it in one way or another most of the time.

He could have entire conversations without opening his mouth, but it was lonely.

Sure, others could sign to him or let him use his phone to feel included, but he felt separate from everyone else, his family included. Sure, he would have had a harder time without them, but he still felt closed off, no matter what they did.

However, he spent a lot of time honing his magic, against anything everyone else told him.

‘B-But, the magic shield was what injured your throat…’

‘i’d let yourself get stronger first….’

He did it anyway. He wanted to be able to protect those he cared about without the extreme consequences he experienced. He didn’t want to save their lives yet give them a burden in return. So he trained every day with Undyne. She had some reservations, but couldn’t say no when he gave her the reason.

‘You remind me of myself. Determined in my own way, but going to put others before myself so they don’t get hurt.’

So he did. And one day he tried to do something he was too scared to try before….

\-------------

Undyne threw a spear at him. He dodged, and threw up his shields. His stamina had gotten better, and he could keep them up for about four minutes now until they faded out entirely. Then a spear at his right foot. His shields automatically moved to buffet him to the side. He fell flat on his back. Undyne stopped throwing spears.

“You okay punk?” He got up slowly, nodding.

[I’m fine. Bit of a shock though. They moved like actual wings… maybe I can use them to dodge better.] He signed.

She shrugged. “Maybe. Better make sure to not fall on your face!” She smiled her shark-like grin. He smiled back. Yeah… this could be beneficial in all kinds of situations.

\----------------

He basically spent a lot of his free time at Frisk’s house. They had great food, awesome people… there was no downside other than the constant stream of semi-humerus jokes. Why Sans. They infected his brain now.

He learned ASL with Frisk and Chara. To their surprise, Flowey actually helped a bit; giving pointers on hand position and speed. Even if it was intermixed with the occasional ‘Idiot’, it was rather helpful. Who knew why, but hey, he’d take it.

Then came the next PTA meeting.

Sans was there, and Frisk came along for the snacks, so he joined them. He had nothing else to do anyway, and he did require some social interaction after all. Too little made him go into his head, but too much made him anxious. A few hours a day seemed to work. So he tagged along. Logan was working in the Lab, Thomas and Roman had Drama Club, and Patton was cooking with Papyrus and Mettaton. He had nothing else to do.

That was a very big mistake.

First five minutes, Diana asked him why he did that ‘flappy thing instead of talking’. He pulled out his phone to respond, as it was clear she didn’t understand ASL and he didn’t usually carry a notepad unless he remembered on the way out the door that morning, which was rare. She pushed down the device and told him to tell her like a normal human being. So he tried to mime that he couldn’t speak. She told him to use his voice. He began to get frustrated. Sans noticed, and came to his rescue, telling her that he couldn’t speak. She asked him why she hadn’t told her. He signed, and Sans translated with a small smirk.

“he said he tried to, but you didn’t let him with his limited resources of communication. he uses his phone to speak if people don’t understand sign language.” She growled, and walked away to yell at somebody. You sighed; grabbed a donut, one of the frequent items one of the parents who worked there brought, and found a chair. Not all of the parents were bad people, just too afraid to try anything.

\---Sixty Minutes Later----

You were sitting at one of the side chairs, minding your own business and watching the drama unfold. Then you heard about the Bake Sale. You looked up intently, ready to deliver information to Patton. He loved these kinds of things. Then you heard that Linda wanted to cancel it. Sans was asleep, and you knew nobody would try to fight it. So you opened the app and typed. 

[Does anybody know sign language? It would be way more efficient to tell you all the reasons why that would be detrimental than using my phone.] Logan would be proud. Vocab words for the win. Virgil would have preferred stupid, but whatever.

One parent raised their hand shyly, not looking at Linda.

[Thank you. Do you mind translating me? It would be very appreciated.]

“Sure.” And they did.

[Linda, as the PTA President you know how much funding goes into these meetings. There are many fundraisers held so we can do our best to improve the school, the Bake Sale being one of them. If we discontinue one of these without putting in a proper replacement, I would suggest something like the kindergarten dance. So few people come that last year we only raised thirty dollars. And that was with five dollars a person. However, the Bake Sale is a district-wide event that profits not only the PTA, but also some of the local businesses. Yes, it does cost a bit, but the profits cover that price twenty-fold with ease. Sure, we could cancel it, but that would also cancel a large portion of your funding in the process. I rest my case. It’s common sense really.]

Your interpreter raised their eyebrows as they finished translating. “Dang. You should go into debate.”

You shrugged, sitting back down into your seat. Too much attention. You typed into your phone.

[So yeah. There’s no reason to cancel the Bake Sale when the positives far outweigh the negatives.]

Linda looked at her watch, seething slightly. “It appears that we are out of time. See you all on the first Wednesday of next month.” She picked up her bag and stormed of the room. Frisk and Sans looked at you. It appeared that he had not been asleep for your rant after all. He smiled, and ruffled Frisk’s hair.

“wanna stop by grillby’s on the way back? we can get some for tori and your bros.”

[Sure. Thank you.]

Frisk nodded, hugging him. “Thank you Sans!”

You went to the nearest shortcut, and appeared a couple blocks away from Grillby’s: Surface Edition. You walked inside. The hustle of dinner hour was just beginning, but Sans walked right up to the bar.

“heya grillbz. how ya been?”

The barkeeper gave a thumbs up, then waved at the two of you.

“….It’s nice to see you both.” He signed, then grabbed a couple of to-go boxes. “…To-Go I assume?”

“yep. a burger, extra ketchup, you know me. a chocolate milkshake for frisket, and let’s go with ten orders of fries. snack with dinner. maybe a couple of those cheesecakes flitwick keeps raving about.”

A few minutes later, a large bag was placed in front of you.

[Thanks Grillby.]

“…You have a good day. Sans, don’t eat all the ketchup for the fries.”

“will do.” Eat all the ketchup, that is.

They left for Frisk’s place. Then he got a text from Roman.

 

**Romano: Hey Panic! We’re meeting you at Frisk’s place in ten minutes. We have Chinese food.**

 

You texted OK back.

This would be fun. And social, but they were cool so that was less daunting than usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and have a great day! I'm still on vacation, so I posted two while I had the chance so you could get something to read. My access to the internet will be spotty for the next two weeks, so here you are! Anyway, thank you and stay DETERMINED!


	34. Sleep

Frisk concentrated. Flowey appeared in their mind, then fizzled out. They sighed, then woke up, getting out of their bed and going downstairs for a glass of milk. They saw a figure in the kitchen and froze. Then they realized it was Sans. He was getting some ketchup. You reached around him and got some milk, pouring it into a glass.

“Hi Sans.” You drank the milk.

“Bye Sans.” You washed the glass out in the sink and made to leave the room. Then you realized Sans had been asleep standing up the entire time. You felt foolish. You contemplated whether to wake him up but decided he could use the sleep and went to bed. You had some work to do.

 

\-----------

 

Virgil lay back on his bed. He has his own room in the attic, which was great- it had room for a bathroom and everything, but this was one of the times he felt lonely. He looked at the ceiling. The light from his alarm clock illuminated the peeling posters of space, bands, and pictures hanging on the wall. He figured he wouldn’t end up sleeping tonight. So he got out of bed and grabbed his flashlight off of his nightstand, looking at the books scattered on his bookshelf. Artemis by Andy Weir. If it was anything like The Martian it would be good. So he returned to bed and read by the light of the flashlight.

 

\----------

 

Mettaton and Papyrus were bored. So they were watching the Princess Bride. Again. For the millionth time. Shoot- they could quote the entire movie from how many times they had watched this. But it was just as exciting every time as they dodged the ROUS’s in the Fire Swamp, met Miracle Max, and every time the phrase: “My name is Endigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” was repeated. They huddled under the blankets on the couch and watched the story unfold, finishing lines under their breaths and falling in love all over again.

\---------

Undyne and Alphys were watching anime. Duh. Unfortunately, it was cheap and poorly made anime. Undyne threw popcorn at the TV.

“This is so boring…. Why can’t they just do the thing so they can get the stuff? They’ve done it before! Stupid plot holes…” Alphys shrugged.

“I-I know! Why don’t they just make a magic accelerometer; they can just transfuse his magic into her so she can help them beat up the villain? T-That should work, so why don’t they do it? They have him, he can build one!”  
  
They both groaned as the clueless protagonists journeyed off to end the episode.

\---------

The SOULS were having fun doing a dance-off in the commons. Unsurprisingly, Robin was owning all of them, their prior dance training coming in handy. Emi had bowed out early to read their book, but they looked up as their friends danced. Joan was dragging over Alex, who was looking uncomfortable. Emi scooted over on the couch, not looking up from their book other than to acknowledge their presence. They then noticed Alex was sitting next to them. They felt a tightening in their chest, along with a flutter. Oh gosh… what was the most logical explanation? They hadn’t eaten that much sugar…

But they remembered that they had felt that recently, and only when Alex was around. Oh gosh… no way….

Then they noticed Joan. They were smiling at then knowingly. Your eyes widened and you looked back into your book. So Joan had known before they had… and obviously they believed that the feelings were mutual… Wait, wait, wait…. Was Joan trying to set them up?!

You and Alex locked gazes, coming to the same conclusion at the same time. Both of your eyes widened, yours in fury and embarrassment, theirs in shock and outrage.

“Joan?!” The two of you snapped at them at the same time. They looked taken aback, then stood up and recovered quickly, doing finger guns.  
“I’ll leave you two to it.” They ran away, to the amusement of the others, who started to laugh. They realized how loud they had just been. Oh stars…

You hid your face in your book as the two of you blushed heavily. Screw you Joan…

But they loved the green one anyways. They were like a sibling to them after all.

\-------

Flowey was playing on the DS. Unfortunately, because it was nearing wintertime, he began to feel tired. Dang it. He sighed, saved the game, and flopped on the edge of his pot.

He wished he had a pillow. Flopping like this always gave him a crick in the neck. Or that’s what it would be if he even had a neck. More like a cricked back- er- stem?  
He wondered what it would be like if there was a RESET. Normally he would get so bored he fell asleep; however, this was different. It was like he wouldn’t want to leave this timeline. Then he realized why.

He didn’t hate any of them. On the contrary actually.

He didn’t have a SOUL, so he didn’t love them, but they were acceptable companions that he wouldn’t fling out of the window at the first opportunity.

He definitely didn’t fall asleep that night.

\-----------

Logan was hungry. He sighed, pushing himself away from his computer. He supposed he really should have eaten more than that one slice of homemade pizza, but he really wasn’t feeling into it. He rubbed his eyes. Seriously, all this stress was going to throw off his circadian rhythm for the next few days… and that could have disastrous consequences for other aspects of his life…

He was dragged back to something some of his classmates had said a week ago. He didn't know why, but it had stuck with him for some reason.

_“Hey Robot.” Richie had sneered, his groupies following him. That jerk._

_“I’m sorry, you must mistake me for someone else.”_

_“No, I was talking to you. You must be a robot- you’re constantly talking as if you don’t feel, now don’t you?”_

_He wasn’t given a chance to respond. They slammed down the books in his arms and ran away, laughing at the ‘robot’ that went to school acting as if he were human._

That gave him a lot to think about.

Even today- he was taking a test online and the “I am not a robot” quiz came up. The quiz was easy- anyone with half a brain could do it- but the checkbox made him pause.

Was he a robot?

No, that was illogical. Robots didn’t have family.

He had feelings. He had friends. He had a purpose.

But that was enough of that.

He got up and went downstairs for his favourite snack. Crofters jelly and Toast. He switched on the light and grabbed the necessary ingredients. Just as he heard the toaster ding he heard a noise from the doorway. It was Roman, who was completely dead to the world, wrapped up in a blanket and sleepwalking. Jeeze, he must be in a torment. He only sleepwalked if he was under considerable mental strain…

Logan threw the pieces of toast onto a plate and led Roman towards the couch. He settled him down, then ran to the kitchen for a piece of paper and a pen. He scribbled down a summary of why his brother was now on the couch instead of his bed and placed it on his chest. He went upstairs, placing the snack on his desk, then stopped outside of Roman’s room. Normally he wasn’t to go in there without permission, but he decided to grab Roman’s usual prepared outfit that he always set out the night before, shoes and all. He carried these down to his sleeping brother, and went back upstairs, turning off his computer to give himself the allotted 30-minute window of device-less existence before he went to bed to maintain his healthy sleeping schedule. He scarfed down the snack and prepared for bed, slipping under the covers with a copy of his favourite book: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. He left his light on and whittled time away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I will be returning home soon enough, where the schedule will go back to normal, but I hope you enjoyed! I'm such a shipper of my OC's... but they're really cute together and I couldn't resist. Sorry that it took so long to upload but I didn't have access to wifi so yeah... but here this is! I will upload the next one soon enough, this one was basically a filler, and I know the whole thing with Virgil was so sudden. But hey, what are the joys of being a writer if you can't pull your pawns into fun/terrifying situations?
> 
> Thank you once again, and have a great day!


	35. Pillow Fight

The group met up at school the next day before their classes, as usual. Apparently, the cousins weren’t just visiting- they had moved, which was shocking to all of you. But hey, life was strange- more so in this little mountain town. It was evident that Virgil had not slept a wink last night, and was glued to a book, but Roman seemed…. off. You couldn’t put your finger on what it was. Oh- and Logan was carrying a purse. Or, as he corrected, a “satchel.”

“This is strictly for convenience purposes. It holds necessary items of worth and purpose in the inconvenience of having no pockets, and any aesthetic design is flowery and unnecessary to its function.” Sure. You totally believed that.

It was impressive, however, that he managed to fit all of his school supplies within the containment unit. Patton seemed as happy as always, but you caught him frowning to himself when he though nobody was watching. You were worried, but you forced your thoughts off of the subject. Chara sidled up to Virgil. *What’s your book about?* He barely took his eyes off of his book as he said squeakily:  
“Space.” Then he dropped the book and clamped his hand over his mouth. His eyes were wide. He shakily signed. Everyone else was deadly quiet. He tried to speak again, tentative. Nothing came out. He scowled, more frustrated than you’d ever seen him. Possibly even angry. He knelt and picked up his book and tried to find his place. Now you were really worried about all of them. Virgil was rarely angry, Roman was… still off. Patton was looking unhappy, and Sleep was coming over. You waved at him. The school they went to was all the way to twelfth grade, so they could visit all they want before they went to classes.

“Hey Rem.” He looked shocked.

“What did you call me hon?”

“Uh- Rem? Like the sleep cycle?” He looked more relieved.

“Oh. Sorry gurl, it just sounded at lot like something else. But that isn’t important hon. Did I just hear you speak Marilyn Morose?” Virgil hid behind his book, shy again.

“Yes, you did. Maybe his vocal cords are healing a bit.” You shrugged. Then Dee came over.

“Hello strangers that I have never met. How awful to see you. I hope you are horrible on this fantastic Monday.” By now you were used to his backwards speech and waved.

“Hey Dee. Nice to see you. How are you doing?” He seemed surprised that you asked him, and quickly responded while spaced out, seeming genuine for once and quickly correcting himself.

“Fi- I mean, horrible. Absolutely horrible.” He seemed out of it, looking at Patton. “You’re looking great today Patton. Nothing on your mind at all.” Patton jumped with a start, all smiles.

“Oh, I’m fine! Don’t worry about me kiddo! I was just exploring my mindscape, don’t mind me.” He looked around. “I think the bell will ring soon.” And there it was. The obnoxious bell that graced you with its presence and started the school day. They all hurried to class, You, Logan, Virgil, Chara, and Roman went to math. Thomas to History, and Patton to English. You would all meet up at lunch if there weren’t any complications. Then you had an idea.

You texted Sans and Toriel.

 

**You: Can we invite the Sanders and their cousins for a sleepover? I think they need a cheering up.**

**Sans: uh, if their uncle says yes it’s okay with me. they stay here a lot anyways.**

**Goat Mom: That sounds like it could be fun! Do check with their parents though.**

 

You walked over to Logan and told him the news quietly. You wanted it to be a surprise for the others. Logan considered it for a moment, then quickly pulled out his phone to text his uncle. The two of you waited with bated breath. His phone buzzed. You cheered silently. Then you texted back.

 

**You: He said yes!!!!!!**

**Goat Mom: Okay! That sounds like a plan!**

**Sans: i’ll order pizza.**

 

You smiled at Logan, who had a small spring in his step. So he had been worried about his brothers. Interesting. He normally wouldn’t worry if there was a logical reason for the others to be this way… that made their behavior stranger. Except for Virgil’s tiredness. He was obviously caught up in his book. His frustration was warranted; he had dashed hopes for being able to speak again. Must be the enhanced magic diet. Shoot- if it could regrow nerve endings it could probably fix most of his vocal cords in record time. Maybe not make him able to speak for long amounts of time quite yet, but the fact that he could produce sound at all at this point of time was a wonder.

You went into math with a spring of your own in your shoes.

\---------

They walked towards your house, oblivious of the sleepover. They passed the bus stop, and some of the Monsters protesting the segregation laws. You needed to bring that up in the next meeting with the government. Logan ran over to their house to get some supplies, which was fortunate because it was within walking distance. You walked down the street, talking aimlessly. Patton and Roman were discussing which Disney movie was the best, Dee chiming in with Sleeping Beauty and Remy agreeing with him. Roman managed to hold his own with Cinderella. Virgil signed something cynical about the movie, leading him and Roman to start a one-sided shouting match. Thomas tried to act as peace breaker, before switching it into Pixar movies. Roman immediately tried to defend Coco from the onslaught of Wall-E, Cars, The Incredibles, Toy Story, and more Wall-E. Thomas said Inside Out to overall approval. It seemed that that one was a classic. You and Chara stared at each other.

*I’d say that Monsters Inc. was good. However, this is all kinda pointless, and they seem to be blurring the lines, especially now that Disney owns Pixar.*

“True.” All the movies were good anyway. Except Cars 2. The action scenes were okay, but the story was kinda lax. Just your opinion.

You walked down the street. It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, the last flowers of the season were blooming before it got too cold, and you saw a family playing catch in their front yard. What a day to be alive.

You were filled with DETERMINATION.  
File: SAVE

The familiar feeling of motivation filled the two of you. You smiled, fingering the leaves of some bushed as you passed, Logan trying to talk about the scientific aspects of some of the movies they were going on about to try to win their favor. You honestly thought the science was cool. Maybe you could ask Alphys to teach you how to build stuff. That would be cool. You approached your house, and the two of you led them inside.

Virgil, Patton, Thomas, and the others flopped onto the sofa and surrounding chairs, and you went downstairs into the basement to get a few things.

You turned on the light, and saw the dusty karaoke machine. You smiled. Roman was so gonna love this… you dragged it up the stairs.

When Patton saw it he squealed. “Is that a karaoke machine?!” He leapt up and lunged at it. Roman ran over to look at it. Logan came in at that moment.

“That is indeed a karaoke machine.” Virgil noticed the stuff in his arms.

[Why do you have our overnight stuff?]

You smiled. “We’re gonna have a sleepover!” Virgil raised his brows.

[Our uncle said yes?]

You nodded.

[Awesome.]

You looked at Sleep, who was knocked out on the chair. Deceit was looking over, a smirk on his face. He raised a finger to his lips, looking at you all, and went over to his brother. He yelled directly into his sibling’s ear.

“REMY!” Sleep jolted awake immediately. He scowled at Dee, sunglasses hanging half off of his head.

“What have I told you about calling me by my real name? What the heck were you thinking?” Virgil snickered. Remy turned towards his next target. “What are you snickering at?!”

Remy turned stark white, waking up fully to realize the situation. He turned to his brother, eyes murderous.

“YOU SLIMY BOI!” He lunged at Dee, who dodged with a sweep of his long coat. He smiled, not being sarcastic to drive his point home.

“Yes. I am a snake. Deal with it.” He snagged Sleep- no, Remy’s sunglasses off of his head and swaggered off, a strut in his step. Remy ran after him. Their bickering rang off of the walls. There was a silence between the five of you. Then you all burst out laughing except Logan, even Virgil let out a honk-like laugh, wincing afterwards, holding his throat and massaging it with his fingertips. You ran to the kitchen and got a monster candy for him, still chuckling.

Patton was in peals of laughter, lying on the ground. Roman was chuckling, hand over his mouth to hide his smile. Thomas was bent over, hands on his knees. Logan simply waiting for silence. Then he lifted his head back, and after about three seconds of silence…

“Ha.” That sent you all laughing again, except Virgil, who was eating the monster candy and grinning like a maniac, hand covering his smile.

Then the door opened. Sans walked in, floating pizza trailing in. He stopped at the sight of their faces. “what’d i miss?” You caught him up to speed. He snickered at Remy’s name like the rest of you. “wow. that is… some name. welp, anyone want some pizza? I can set up some karaoke.”

There were general cheers of agreement, and you all got some pizza, even Dee and Remy, who were still bickering slightly. You wandered down to the basement with Sans, who was making sure it was working.

“man, i can’t believe we managed to fix this. we found it broken in waterfall one day, and papyrus- this was when he was a babybones- managed to convince me to teleport it home. we put it in the basement, and i tried to repair it for him. it sat there, broken, until we managed to get onto the surface. alphys managed to fix it up in a few days. dunno why i didn’t ask her sooner. shoot- mtt probably could’a fixed it. he has experience with these sorts of machines, being one himself.”

Yeah, that seemed true. And very Mettaton, pulling a hidden talent out of midair with a glitterbomb to surprise everyone around him. You finished setting up the machine. Then you ran upstairs to tell the others, running into chaos.

It seemed Virgil and Flowey were shouting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! I was super tired and stuff after traveling and time got away from me. I'll post another chapter or two this week, then get roughly back to the schedule I had. I'm going out of town again, but I will have a more reliable connection to wifi so I should still be able to upload regularly. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and have a great day! I hope you enjoyed, and if you left a comment it would make my day! (I mean you don't have to but it would be nice...) 
> 
> Thanks!


	36. Sir-Sing-A-Lot

Flowey was perched on the dining-room table, bullets surrounding him. He was snarling at Virgil, who was growling back like a cat. Logan looked over nervously, while Dee and Sleep looked at them from behind a corner. Patton was trying to stop the fight, Roman and Thomas holding him back. Virgil and Flowey were spitting insults at each other. You sighed, moving to the board by the wall.

Days since last incident: You flipped it to zero.

“Hey idiot, nice to see you not dead and gone. You’re weak, like all of these pathetic humans. How Frisk made it through the Underground intact beats me.”

[You’re talking to the guy who survived a gunshot from another human. We’re not weak, unlike you cowchow.]

“After your shields caved in and sliced your vocal cords. I wouldn’t call that strong. Look, you can’t even talk.”

Virgil cleared his throat. “Falsehood.” He said softly yet surely. Flowey looked almost impressed.

“Huh. Guess Whismer got a job in politics. I owe Blooky ten dollars. Thanks a lot kid. Congrats I guess.”

Everyone, including you, were blown away. What was he playing at? Then he grimaced and turned away, and you realized. He was actually starting to feel remorse, maybe even appreciation. Interesting.

Well, here goes nothing. You walked up there, ignoring and dodging the bullets flung your way with ease. You picked up the flowerpot and walked upstairs. There was silence.

“So is there any pineapple pizza hon? It would go great with my Starbucks.”

You heard the clap of facepalms and chuckles as you returned Flowey to your room. He hissed at you. You smiled back. He looked down, sheepish. You ruffled his petals affectionately. He thought a second, then smiled back- well, more of a grimace. He conjured some vines and hugged you tightly- almost too tightly. You heard a mutter.

“Thanks Frisk, you big idiot.”

Of course. Welp, time to see the guests, and besides, you heard the doorbell ring. You asked Flowey if he wanted to come back. He looked nervous, but nodded. You carried him back. He looked at Virgil. You let in Mettaton and Papyrus.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered softly. Virgil’s eyes widened a fraction before he gave a lopsided smile at the monster.

“Apology accepted flowerface. Want some pizza? It’s monster food, so you can eat it.” He looked up, surprised.

“Uh, sure? Pineapple?” He got a piece slid in front of him from the least likely person. Dee walked towards the basement, back to the three of you. After a pause, you followed, carrying Flowey and your plates of pizza.

“So who wants to sing?” You weren’t surprised when Roman raised his hand. He had called dibs for the last half hour since you had pulled it out, so that was to be expected. He ran up to the microphone, not even needing the lyrics posted on the screen, since he obviously knew this song by heart. Holding on for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler. The classic music popped through the speakers. The background singers flooded in, then Roman sang.

 

_Where have all the good men gone~_   
_And where are all the gods?~_   
_Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?~_   
_Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?~_   
_Late at night I toss and I turn~_   
_And I dream of what I need~_

_I need a hero ~_   
_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night~_   
_He's gotta be strong~_   
_And he's gotta be fast~_   
_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight~_   
_I need a hero~_   
_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light~_   
_He's gotta be sure~_   
_And it's gotta be soon~_   
_And he's gotta be larger than life!~_   
_Larger than life~_

 

He continued to sing, and you were sure a few of your family members were agape. You looked over. Yep. Sans looked impressed. So did Mettaton. Papyrus’s eyes were shining. Yeah, this was the perfect song for Roman. Roman started to wrap up the song.

 

_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light~_   
_He's gotta be sure~_   
_And it's gotta be soon~_   
_And he's gotta be larger than life~_   
_I need a hero~_   
_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night~_

 

He stopped, the end music playing as the audience clapped. He looked grateful, bowing before returning to his seat on the couch. Sans jigged some names in a hat. You wondered where it came from, but let it go. Sans probably teleported it in anyway. He read off the slip of paper.

“dee.” He looked up.

“Okay then, I guess this doesn’t work.” He pulled up the lyrics on the screen. Your Song, by Ellie Goulding. You hadn’t heard it, but it sounded cool.

 

_It's a little bit funny~_   
_This feeling inside~_   
_I'm not one of those who can~_   
_Easily hide~_

_I don't have much money~_   
_But boy if I did~_   
_I'd buy a big house where~_   
_We both could live.~_

_So excuse me forgetting~_   
_But these things I do~_   
_See I've forgotten if~_   
_They're green or they're blue~_

He continued to sing. His voice was slightly softer than Roman’s, but he did the same riffing. Weird. They must’ve picked it up from the same person or something. Huh. Anyway, he wrapped up the song as well, to applause. Virgil and Logan declined, Virgil because of his voice and Logan because he didn’t like singing. Roman countered.

“What if I get you a jar of Crofters?” He perked up. You remembered an incident when you ran into him shopping and he saw that they had his favourite kind of jam. He literally sang for joy, and the people who worked there gave him weird looks for weeks. He sighed, adjusting his glasses in resignation.

“Fine. Only if it’s the blackberry and pomegranate. The mango’s too sweet, and the blueberry pales in comparison.” Remy though about it.

“Sure.” Logan stepped up to the microphone, attaching another one to it.

‘Then you will fall with me.” He put on What is this Feeling? from Wicked. Nice. Roman blanched, then thought a little.

“But I get to change the lyrics a little. Who says ‘Dearest darlingest Momsie and Popsicle anyway’?” Logan sighed.

“Fine.” He straightened his tie, and Roman came up, teeth flashing in a smirk. They took a few seconds to adjust their microphones. Then Remy bounded up, grabbing another microphone. They stared at him.

“What’s the problem gurl? You need a backup singer if you’re going to change the lyrics like it’s a remix.” They acquiesced. He smiled, and prepared to follow their lead. Logan began, his singing slightly lacking inflection but warming up when he remembered the prize for his sacrifice. Do it for the Crofters.

 

_Dearest darlingest world-wide fans.~_   
_Dear Patton-_

 

He flashed his brother a smile. They both sang.

 

_There’s been some confusion over rooming here you’ll see=_

_Of course I’ll care for myself.-_

_Of course I’ll rise up of it.~_

They continued, changing the lyrics to suit them. They reached the peak of the song, Remy serving as backup.

 

_Loathing=_   
_(Loathing)_   
_There’s a strange exhilaration=_   
_(Loathing)_   
_From such total detestation=_   
_(Loathing)_   
_It’s so pure it’s so strong=_   
_(So strong)_   
_And although I admit it came on fast=_   
_I do believe that it can last=_   
_And I will be loathing=_   
_For forever loathing=_   
_Truly deeply loathing youuu…..=_   
_My whole life long!=_

 

Then came the fun part. Logan turned to Roman, knowing he could produce the scream they needed.

 

_Boo!-_

_AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!~_

Everyone flinched from the volume. Sans’s eyelights shut off. Mettaton raised his brows. It finally ended after a few seconds of ear-piercing screaming.

“Oh my goodness.” Thomas. Stating the obvious, but true. You heard a loud series of footsteps as Borealis ran down the stairs, blue fireballs in the air.

“Who screamed?” Roman raised his hand in the deafening silence. She scanned the room for any signs of imminent danger. “Okay… that was impressive. Was it for some song or something?” Logan nodded. “Huh. Wow. I’m gonna go upstairs, but it sounds awesome from up there. Call me if you guys do some Disney movies or something. UP was the best.” She walked back upstairs, grabbing a piece of pizza. You got up to get another slice of pizza as Sans opened his jaw as if to pop his non-existent eardrums.

“wow.”

“I know right? I never would’ve guessed UP. Wall-E is so much better.”

“But UP is sadder.”

“But- okay yeah, it does have a great love story.”

“But the only robots are the dogs’ collars. Wall-E has less of that sappy, useless….emotional stuff for most of the film.” Everyone looked at Logan, who was chewing a piece of pizza like he hadn’t uttered the most robotic thing you had ever heard a person say.

“But the sappy, emotional stuff is the best part of the film! It’s robots learning to love!” Patton had changed into a cat onesie, and was curled up in a nest of blankets. Thomas and Remy nodded.

“The worst part was the AI. Auto was not the best villain in a modern Disney movie. Except for maybe those adorable coconuts in Moana. Those were not adorable.” Dee was picking at his fingernails. He needed to redo the yellow polish. It was starting to chip. Remy sighed.

“You guys aren’t taking the villains into effect hon. Some of those movies are nothing without the bad guys.”

“Yeah, the villains in Cars were almost non-existent. Who was it? Time? Lightning himself? Other cars? Who knows!” Virgil raised his eyebrows.

“Do I detect sarcasm towards a Disney movie?” His voice was still soft, but it was loud enough to hear. Roman scoffed.

“Well I have noticed a few things. I mean- make it easier for the princes. They could use a little help. Like in The little Mermaid- learn sign language. Or how to write. There’s multiple ways to tell him you’re the girl who saved him.”

“Or have your mer-lawyers look over the document for fine print. Look at what you’re going to sign when you are signing a legal contract. It’s common sense really.”

Oh boy. Were the two of them going to start this argument again? Granted, they were on the same side this time, but still. This could go on all night. You looked at Chara. They were starting to nod off. It was almost eleven-thirty after all. Sans was sleeping in his chair. You grabbed another blanket as they continued to bash/ defend the movies. Time to fall asleep.

 

\---------

 

You woke up to soft music filtering through the air. You looked around. The others were still asleep, and it was around two or three in the morning, so whoever it was must have been trying to not wake anyone. You got up, dusting yourself off and straightening your glasses. You had fallen asleep before changing into your unicorn onesie, which would throw your whole circadian rhythm off, but it explained why you were up at three AM. You followed the music. You opened the cracked sliding door to see a brilliant silver moon. The song, haunting, made him want to do… something. His eyes hurt. Did he need new glasses? No, wait….. he felt the sting of …tears?

That was illogical. Why would meager sound waves cause one to feel emotion? He couldn’t help but listen as he sought the source of the music. He trudged through the slightly damp grass. He was fortunate to be wearing such thick socks. He walked forward, emotions forgotten. Where was it coming from? He saw a ladder leading to the roof. Huh. Guess someone was playing music on the roof? That was an odd spot to do so, not counting the fact that it was the early hours.

So he climbed.

He got onto the flat expanse of roof to see the flame elemental from earlier. Their eyes were closed, and they were playing a slow, sad song. Why? He settled down on the roof to watch.

The only sounds were the violin, the nature around him, and the silence of the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs:
> 
> \- Holding on to a Hero by Bonnie Tyler  
> \- Your Song by Ellie Goulding  
> \- What is this Feeling? from Wicked- Sanders Sides Version by DEHandHamSandwich. Check it out, it’s great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siVx-StyklA
> 
>    
> And if you simply can't wait for Marvel.... I have a Loki fic in progress that I'm going to update in-between these chapters if you want it:
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354381/chapters/35628753
> 
>  
> 
> I had a lot of fun with this chapter! I hope you all liked it- I will try to post another chapter before I go on vacation again, then try to maintain some kind of semi-regular schedule until I go back to school in three weeks or so. After that it will probably die down a bit to one of two uploads a week. In the meantime however, thank you for reading, have a lovely day, and please leave a comment! I'd love to get feedback or critique so I can make my writing better, so feel free to comment! If you're not one for that, you can kudo or bookmark, and that is just as lovely! 
> 
> Thank you all, and I hope you enjoyed! <3


	37. Broken Record

Roman was lying awake. The others were asleep, except Logan, who had gone outside when he heard the violin music that played softly through the air, but he was too caught up in his thoughts to think. No, not thoughts, daydreams and fears.

He tried his usual trick of morphing them into defeatable beasts. Dragons, Witches, Dragon-witches, the list went on. But it didn’t work. They took the forms of his friends and his family. Judging him. Mocking him. Forcing him away. He tried to stand his ground, his samurai sword flashing yellow, but he eventually had to run to escape his shadows, the sword clattering to the ground. Fortunately, he was in his mind, so he ran as much as he wanted.

\----

He just lay there, staring at the ceiling. The music had stopped some time ago, and he definitely wasn’t going to go to sleep soon. So he tried to daydream something else. His one place that was always calm.

He mentally appeared in a blank, white room. There was a bunch of art supplies on the floor. He created to his heart's content. Man, he was bored.

Eventually, however, he managed to fall asleep.

He woke to the smell of pancakes. Everyone else was already up, and he tried to get up. Purple strings held him down. It appeared he was sleepwalking again. He called for Logan, who ran over.

“It seems that I’m sleepwalking again?” His brother nodded. “I had to hold you down.” He groaned as Logan made the ropes disappear.

“Man, I thought I was done with that. It hasn’t happened in years.” Logan shrugged, helping him up.  
“You seem to be stressed. Maybe communication will help? It seems to have worked for Virgil, and the two of you are similar in the regard for your stress management.” He thought about it.

“Maybe. I think some sparring with Undyne could work too. If I have the energy to sleepwalk, I must have too much. That makes sense, right?” Logan shrugged.  
“I have no access to future information. And feelings are icky, complicated things. I try not to meddle with them. However, that does not serve a larger purpose for those who are not logically minded. It may be worth a try.” Roman smiled at him, then sniffed the air.

“What kind of pancakes are those?”

“Chocolate chip.”

“Sweet.” He walked towards the kitchen, following his nose to the dining room. There sat his family and friends, eating, talking, listening to music, or posting pictures of their food onto social media. Sure, he liked Instagram and snapchat, but he didn’t post his food! Well, most of the time anyway. And besides, they were guests, and guests had to have proper etiquette. This would not do. So he did what he did best. He talked.

“This is not proper guest etiquette! Virgil, please take off those earbuds. Remy, you don’t need to post everything do you? And Flowey, is that any way to eat?” Virgil took off his earbuds. Remy ignored him. Flowey glared in his direction.

“I don’t have hands you idiot.”

“Hey Sleeping Beauty.”

“Hello Jekyll and Snide. And you have vines, do you not?” The flower sighed, and conjured some small vines to pick up his utensils. Then he threw the fork at Roman and went face-first back into his food.

After dodging the fork, he sighed, then went to go get his food. Peasants. They had no idea how to eat fine cuisine. As he ate, there was a silence.

“So why the sleep stuff?” Flowey had come up for air, it seemed. He moved his food around his plate, shrugging.

“I don’t know. I’ve done it for a while. Hasn’t happened like that in a few years though. I usually just sleepwalk and then go back to wherever I fell asleep. Only happens when I’m stressed, but I’m not really stressed right now.” Flowey looked thoughtful.

“Huh. Chara used to do the same thing.” He resumed eating. Roman then noticed that Chara wasn’t there.

“Speaking of which, where is Chara?” Everyone shrugged. Sans took a swig of ketchup. Toriel placed a few…. Snails? On her pancakes?? Frisk had doused theirs with Nutella and syrup. That sounded good. So he did the same. Nobody seemed to know. Frisk thought they might be in their room, but then again they could be visiting the other SOULS with Borealis. They did that often, and they forgot to tell others sometimes. However, in a town where everyone knew everyone, they would probably be okay. Such is Ebbot, such is life. Well, not really life, but whatever. He cleaned up.

“So when will we be going?” Frisk thought.

“I was thinking maybe after we visited the lab with Sans? You know, general magical checkup and stuff. Probably around three if you want to text your parents.” Remy put up a thumb as they finished speaking.

“Got it. Anything else?”

“If there is anything, we’ll tell you then. You’re on your phone a lot as it is.” Remy had to give them that. He was on it a lot. Maybe six or seven hours a day, minimum. Usually closer to nine. And only half of that was posting. The rest was reading articles about drinks and being a bartender. He could totally do that for a living. He shook his head back to reality. Then he realized he had missed a conversation.

“Sorry, what did I miss?” There was a sigh from his twin. He fought back annoyance. Virgil knew how much he went into his head.

“We were talking about what we were going to do before then. We’d go over to the Lab at one or so.”

“Thank you.” He turned back to the conversation, missing Virgil’s eyebrows shoot up into the stratosphere. So they would be going to the farmer’s market. Cool. He could get some strawberries.

He loved strawberries.

\------

Chara and Borealis were listening to Emi vent. Well, Borealis was listening. Frisk was trying to think of a ship name. Ami? Elix? Pravery? Berseverance? Ami would work for now.

So Emi was ranting about the whole thing when Alex showed up and joined in. Emi immediately acted like they were in love. The dilated pupils, sweaty hands, blush, internally screaming, everything. You did the internal smirk that you did when you were in close approximation with your OPT.

Yeah, you were going to make Ami a thing.

You were DETERMINED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and have a great day!


	38. Soulfelt

Joan was texting when a text from Chara came up.

 

**Chocolatelover68: So you ship Ami too?**   
**Greenbean: Ami? Why didn’t I think of that? And yes. Of course.**   
**Chocolatelover68: Good. This will be optimal.**   
**Greenbean: Chara, what are you doing to do?**   
**Chocolatelover68: I’m going to dock this ship. You in?**   
**Greanbean: HECK YEAH I’M IN!**   
**Chocolatelover68: Excellent. Meet me in my room.**

Chara had a second room here. They didn’t use it very much, but it was a great meeting space and great to store their art stuff. So you went over there and knocked on the door labeled with a red heart. Chara opened the door. *Borealis is listening to Emi and Alex rant, so we have a chunk of time.* You smirked.

^I mean really, they’re rather obvious. I can’t believe they didn’t figure it out sooner. They’d be a cute couple.^

They smiled wider. *They really didn’t know until you set them up? Oh this is wonderful.* You smiled, realizing somebody was missing.

^Hold on, where’s Frisk? They’d love to get into this.^ They were more of a shipper than they were, and that was an accomplishment.

*We have the Sanders over for a sleepover, so they’re entertaining them. I’ll tell them about this later.*

You crossed the room and grabbed a hidden popcorn bag and some caramel topping. You threw the popcorn into the microwave while Chara looked on in confusion. ^What? I learned to hide food in any room. You know us and competitive hide and seek.^

That was true. You had done a game that had lasted for eighteen hours and Alex had been caught in the kitchen grabbing some food. So you slowly hid random foodstuffs in each room, along with said materials to cook it. Along with some ductape and bubblewrap. It was always useful, and served as your version of an emergency kit. If you were holed up in a room, you had food, water, and survival tools. It was perfect.

The microwave dinged from inside its soundproofed box. You pulled out the bag, opening it to pour caramel into it and adding some scrounged chocolate chips. Then the two of you began to eat.

*So why the food? I understand the fun aspects, and the survival aspects, but…?*

^And I’m lazy. But mostly for the survival skills. And impromptu parties at three AM. You have no idea how many times I’ve produced party food out of thin air and had people surprised at my ingenuity.^

Chara looked surprised, which was warranted. You didn’t seem very intelligent in the most common way, with math and glasses and whatnot like Emi, but you were resourceful. You did make it the furthest of most of the SOULS after all. You were just known for sticking in Snowdin. You actually made it until the end of Waterfall. You didn’t resent Undyne for killing you. It was part of the job, after all. And besides, you would’ve done the same in her place.

Only Alex got further, and they did everything by force if they ran into a monster. They had run into some really trigger happy dogs, but they hadn’t killed anyone. Just maimed a few until they ran away. They still had a few arguments about that. Then there was Frisk. They had done what they had dreamed to do. Free the monsters. Ah well. They were free this timeline, and that was the important part.

You returned to reality, and realized that half the popcorn had disappeared. ^How long did I space out?^

*About five minutes.*

^Sorry. Thinking about the Underground. And the day I told Principal Akron about Virgil and the fight. I feel bad about that, even if it was the right thing to do.^

*You did that?*

^Yeah. I don’t regret it, just kinda wished it had gone better. See you soon then?^

*You got it. You know, you’re more clever than we all give you credit for.* You stood up.

^Nah. I just learned how to read people. How they work, their motivations, feelings; all that stuff. People underestimate the KIND people all on their own. Fact of life. Guess I’ll text you about Ami as things progress? How’s Flowey?^

*Not bad. Seems to be more empathetic, so that’s a good sign to tell Corsiva the next time you see her. She’s working herself to the bone to-* They broke off, gritting their teeth. *Dammit Sans. Anyway, yeah. Tell Corsiva that if you could. Text me any developments on #Ami. Guess I’ll see you around.*

^See you then!^ They made up to walk out the door, but Chara said something to give them pause.

*You know, you don’t have to be someone else in front of us. You just… you have your own dreams too. Remember the restaurant? You can still build that. Don’t sell yourself short to make everyone else happy.* You smiled at them as you departed.

^Who said I was giving that up? I’m just putting it to the backburner while we get all of this settled. They still think we’re, well, dead, so it’s a good time to lie low and take care of some personal problems in the meantime. See ya sib.^ You left, not noticing their face of shock.

\-----

Wait- sib? Wat the heck? Do they… no. They can’t.

Do these maniacs think of me as part of their family?

They can’t…..

Well, I guess I’m as crazy as any of them. I fit right in.

Chara laughed to themselves as they lay back on the bed.

I can’t wait to see how I screw this up. They sniffed.

*I wish Azzy were here.* They whispered, spooning their throw pillow. He’d know how to help. He always did.

\--------

Flowey looked up at the stars as the violin music played from the roof. That fire elemental had some weird hobbies.

He wished Chara was here. He wished…

He wished he could have his family back. Granted, Toriel and Asgore were on speaking terms again; maybe even friends, and Chara was here…

But he was the missing piece. He really should tell them.

He felt a strange longing in his core.

Why did every emotion connected to the SOUL have to suck so much? He felt a stirring, almost as if in acknowledgement. Wait…he was joking. Hold on…

He felt it again. Holy-

He had a SOUL.

Well this was an interesting development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There ya go! I'll probably post Wednesday or so, if not around there, but hey- I have links you can follow if you want! 
> 
> Here's my other work if you're a fan of Marvel and want something short to read (Specifically Loki based):  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354381/chapters/35628753
> 
> AND
> 
> Here's my Tumblr if you want to say hello:  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42
> 
> Thank you for reading! Have a great day!


	39. Boredom

What was one to do? He felt… something. And that was what scared him. He felt. He hadn’t felt in a long time. 

It was new. 

It was raw. 

It was Fear. 

He felt sick. Sickened with fear… that had to be a thing. It was scarily accurate. Man. What was one to do with feelings if he hadn’t felt in… oh, about 200 years or so? The amount of time caused by the RESETS escaped him, but it was probably another 50. So what was he to do? 

He could catch up on what he’d miss in the 250 years of coldness…

Or he could feel like shit and complain. 

Definitely the second one. 

“FRIIISSSKKKKK….” He groaned, flopping in his pot. No answer. “FRIIISSSKKKKK….” You heard a stomping up the stairs. Smiley trashbag- he felt a twinge in his chest. Stupid remorse. Sans walked in, looking very annoyed. 

“whadda you want. the kid’s at school.” Yay, the fear returned. This was rather annoying.

“Just wanted to complain. I’ll shut up now.” Sans eyed him suspiciously, then left the room. 

Flowey flopped around, extremely bored. He pulled out his DS. Pokemon was starting to get boring. He’d played this game before, with every kind of starter to boot. The grass one twice too, just to keep up his reputation as a grass-hole. Heh. Oh shit, he was turning into Sans. Hmm… this boredom seemed familiar. He was bored of this timeline. Welp wasn’t he a thrill junkie. He pulled over Frisk’s computer and opened Youtube. Might as well watch some minecraft playthroughs or something. He needed to keep himself entertained, for the sake of all of these people. 

Could sapient flowers go to school?

Man, he could only dream. He pulled over Frisk’s textbooks instead. Asriel used to like history, right?

 

\-------

Frisk stared at the wall. They were bored. Could flowers go to school? He was a monster, and he could either type out or write his work, so couldn’t he manage pretty well? Well, he’d have to be exempt from PE. He couldn’t run if he didn’t have legs. How did molsmals manage to run anyway? How did Jeremy manage an eight minute mile? They were made of goo! 

They snapped back to reality, looking at the board. Whew, they were only reviewing chapter 10. They didn’t miss anything. They spaced out again, practicing their SAVE screen mechanics. They almost had it down. Only a couple more weeks to go, and they would be able to keep it running all the time just in case The Player returned. 

Only a few more weeks until they would be free for good. 

That though filled you with DETERMINATION. 

File: SAVE

\------

Flowey was reading on Mesopotamia when Sans walked in. He started guiltily. They stared at each other. Sans cocked his skull in confusion. 

“why the textbook? is sitting around that boring?”

“I like history okay?!” He defended himself, panicking a little. 

“can flowers even go to school?” 

“How would I know?”

“fair enough.”

There was a few beats of silence. Then:

“want some help with science?”

“Wha- really?”

“sure. might as well do some-“

“Don’t you dare-“

“ketchup.”

He let out a small scream of frustration. “You’re dead to me!”

“i’m dead to everybody.” He had walked right into that one. Then he considered the skeleton’s offer. “You know what? Why the heck not. Impress me with science.”  
Sans crossed the room to get the science textbook. The kid was using them for homework, so they were usually hanging around. Flowey stuck the faded ribbon off of his pot in the history book as a bookmark, then used his vines to hop off of the windowsill, grabbing the other ones as he went from their neat stack on the desk. 

“Thanks.”

“no prob. it must suck being a soulless idiot all the time with nothing to do.”

He had no idea how wrong he was. Wait- idiot?!

He followed the skeleton down the stairs. He had an idea for causing mass chaos for the greater good.

“Hey, you think I can go to a PTA Meeting? It might be fun tormenting Linda and Diana with Virgil now that he can finally talk.”

Sans though about it, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face. “you know what? that would be flipping hilarious. you’re coming along tomorrow.”

Hold on- tomorrow? Okay then, thanks for all the notice. Not. 

“Gee, thanks for all the notice.” Flowey used sarcasm. His defense rose. 

“it was your decision flowerface.” His defense fell. Thinking in Pokemon was tiring. 

“True. I guess time really does slip by when you aren’t stressed that the world will end.”

“i guess so.” There was a tense silence as they set themselves up on the couch and coffee table respectively. Sans took a sip of his ketchup on the coffee table. Flowey grabbed the science book and flipped it open to molecules. Sans sighed. “man, this isn’t physics. what the crap are you guys supposed to learn? you can’t use this in real life.” Flowey browsed through the math textbook. 

“I know. What do you use factoring for in real life? Or exponents? School spends a lot of time teaching useless stuff.”

“except one thing.”

“Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?” 

“yep.” That fact shall never be forgotten, if old vines were of any indication. Rest In Peace. You shall be missed. But hey, at least Thomas made fun skits with his friends and posted them to his youtube channel in lieu of his popularity of the dead social media. 

His brothers were viral on there. It was rather funny. They were constantly asked if they were each other. The teachers just called them Mr. Sanders, or something like ‘The one with the glasses’, or ‘the one with the hoodie’ or ‘the one with the bright red lipstick.’ Roman rocked at makeup. He was kinda jealous that he could excel so much with art supplies. Flowey was rubbish at painting.

It wasn’t even hard to tell them apart! Even Temmies could do it, and they sucked at names! They called each other Temmie for a reason! They all just sucked at names! But that wasn’t the point. 

He had some learning to do. And of all people, Sans was going to help him. 

The world was upside down. 

But he didn’t find that he minded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a wild chapter! Thanks for reading! I hope you have a lovely day!


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOSH THIS WAS SO FUN TO WRITE! 
> 
> Anyway.... I hope you enjoy! Have a great day!

Flowey positioned himself on Chara’s windowsill. Today was going to be the day. 

He was scared. 

He was worried.

But the knowledge that he felt at all filled him with DETERMINATION. 

He was ready. 

Then Chara walked in. 

He bolted. The door was surrounded in blue magic and slammed in his face. He saw a glimpse of Sans before he sacked into the wood. Curses. Chara looked at him, an odd expression on their face. It was now or never. He took a deep breath. 

“I…. uh… I’m Asriel….?” 

Oh My God. This went so totally wrong oh my gosh I messed everything up! He mentally screamed.

Then he trailed off at the nonplussed expression on their face. 

*Uh… you know Borealis and Frisk knew, right?* He nodded, holding his breath. *I was with Frisk the entire time. I knew too.*

He facepalmed as he realized his stupidity. “Fudge.” He would’ve preferred a harsher word, but he had some standards. Not really. He just didn’t feel like swearing.

*Yeah, that was pretty ridiculous bro.* 

“Shut up!” He turned away, flower face burning slightly. “It’s hard enough having a SOUL, but on top of that-”

*You have a SOUL?*

“…y-yeah? I don’t know how, but I guess I do.”

They smiled. *I’m happy for you Azzy. You finally got your happy ending too.*

“I-I did, didn’t I?”

Fuck. He had nothing to worry about. 

What the hell was he supposed to do other than worry about his wellbeing?

 

\------

 

Remy had dragged them to Starbucks. Again. As they sipped their beverages, they didn’t notice what Remy had ordered for Patton until it was too late. Remy got his usual. Patton thought it sounded good, so he got one too. 

He got caffeine. Four shots of espresso to be exact.

They were all going to die.

Fuck…..

Virgil eyed his brother. “Hey Pat? You look… jittery.” That was the polite way to say he was starting to pump his leg under the table like a piston, and had done so for the last three minutes straight.

Patton looked at him as seriously as one on a caffeine rush could act when they didn’t realize what was happening. “What? No kiddo, I’m fine! Man though, that drink was super good Rem! What was it?” 

Remy didn’t look up from his phone as he recited what concoction he drank on the daily. “A vanilla Frappuccino with four shots of espresso, a hint of mint and chocolate, some cinnamon, sprinkles when I’m feeling glam- though, when am I not, right gurls, and a cherry and whipped cream on Fridays.”

Logan’s eyes widened as he sipped his water. “Did you say four extra shots of caffeine, or are my ears deceiving me?”

“Did someone say my name?” Dee looked up from his black hole of a coffee. Bitter, as always. 

“Nah, we’re just worried about Pat’s caffeine intake.” Thomas, always wrapping up conversations quickly. 

“Um, Pat… you know how energetic you get on sugar?” He could only eat a few of his cookies before he was bouncing off the walls like a kangaroo on a pogo stick.

“Yeah?” He was grinning like an idiot, staring into space. “What is the meaning of life?”

“Working yourself into an endless spiral of dispair.” 

“No, 42 hon. Don't be dramatic.”

“54- WAIT THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR WORD ASSOCIATION GAMES! Patton, do you know just how many harmful chemicals you have pumped into your system? The only reason Remy can handle that much is because he’s built up a tolerance for it over repetitive use over months- maybe even years- of consistent caffeine intake. You get overexcited if you stare at a cupcake wrong, even if it is just a placebo effect.” He looked proud of his use of slang despite the situation.

Patton shrugged, still smiling. “Yeah. So?” Logan rubbed his temples, annoyed at the idiocy of the people he was surrounded with. 

“So, because of said toxins that you have put into your system you will have very adverse effects. You will feel overly energetic for the next two to five hours, then those adrenaline levels will wear off, causing you to feel immensely tired. You just drank an entire whatever-that-concoction-is. You will have a prolonged, adverse reaction, along with probable headaches and dizziness. I would find a way to release this energy as soon as possible before you get worse.”

“Hey, do you guys want to go feed the ducks? I do! Let’s go feed the ducks right now!” Patton ran out of the store. The other Joan, who was sitting a few tables away, looked at their best friend, Remy. 

“Hey Rem? You want me to go get ‘im?” Remy sighed, rubbing his face. 

“If you don’t mind, Joan, hon, that would be great. You’ve heard the stories gurl. However, you managed to wrangle me that time we went to Terrence’s a year or so ago. You’re probably going to be our best bet angel.” Joan flashed a thumb’s up. 

“Cool. Get me some of those cookies on Fourth Street? I’ll consider it payment.”

“You got it hon. Thanks.” 

“Hey Virge? Tell the other Joan good luck with their shipping attempts. Tell ‘em to use FexEx. Those two are denser than those scones on Oak Ave. You know, the ones with the cranberries.” You flashed them a thumb.

“On it. I’ll text them. Thanks again for Pat. Tell me if you need help.”

“See you guys.” Then went out to their car, texting on their way out the door. 

There was a tense silence interspersed with Logan’s sips of water. 

“Who’s going to keep the video as blackmail for this time?”

Remy and Dee both their phones. “We got it hon.”

“And I do not have the backup.” 

“And I will text this to Talyn as a secondary precaution just in case Patton gets to our phones. Don’t worry.”

“Good idea. Ro?”

“I have the pictures for future reference for what to do the next time he wished to go the distance and order something with caffeine.”

“Awesome. Logan?”

“I am already creating a spreadsheet of the detrimental effects to his health. No need to bother me. I will put this in his room tomorrow, and create a photocopy.”

“Sweet. Virgil?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get the couch ready for the unavoidable caffeine crash after I train with Undyne.”

“Thanks. This was fun.”

“You said it fam! Man, and I though today was going to be boring! This was lit!”

They all filed in their respective directions, carrying their beverages. You texted Joan. The greenbean, not the- okay, this was just getting confusing.

 

Panic!@TheEverywhere: Hey Joan. Joan #2 told me to tell you good luck on your shipping. Recommends FedEx. Patton got into the caffeine again.   
GreanBean: Was that why I saw him in the park; feeding the squirrels and running around like a crazy person being chased by the other Joan? That explains a lot. Anyway, thanks. LOL! See u tomorrow at school!  
Panic!@TheEverywhere: See you tomorrow!   
GreenBean: Have a great day! :3

 

He closed the app and walked down to Undyne’s house. Time to spar. 

 

\------

 

Roman was editing his profile picture. Again. It eventually got too small to see. Perfect. 

Man, he was bored. He brought out his samurai sword and swung it around. Still bored, but slightly less so. He went to the kitchen to make a hot pocket. Then he saw the microwave on fire. Again?!

“Logan?”

“Yes?”

“The microwave’s on fire again.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep.”

There was a sigh. “Can you please get the fire extinguisher?”

“Yep.” He put out the fire with a practiced ease. “Who do you think it was?”

“Most likely Remy according to prior information. You know him as well as I do.”

Virgil walked in from training, carrying some McDonalds from the walk home to share with them. “Why does it smell like smoke?”

“The microwave caught on fire again.”

“Shit! My hot cereal!” Speak of the devil. Remy ran in, sunglasses on and holding his Starbucks. Iced Coffee this time. How does he sleep? Oh wait. He doesn’t until four AM. How could we forget. He stopped short seeing the microwave. “Dang it! I thought I was onto something!”

“You tried to microwave cereal?”

“Yeah! I wanted to make hot cereal! It was genius fam!”

“So you wanted to make oatmeal?”

“Son of a gun hon!” He looked annoyed. “One of my followers told me to invent a new food. I came up with hot cereal, and I was going to make a food review.”

“You still basically made oatmeal.”

“Shut it hon.”

“You have to buy a new microwave. We cannot prepare food properly without a microwaving apparatus.”

“But that’s the third this month! How am I supposed to afford another microwave? I’m not a money tree!”

“Stop wasting it on frivolous beverages and you can buy a mansion in a year.”

“That’s not the point and you know it calculator!” Virgil came back from getting a blanket and pillow for the return of Patton. 

“Are you guys still arguing about this? I thought Patton said the curse jar funds would go towards any needed microwaves.”

“Flip.” Remy put a dollar into the gallon jug full of money, mostly from him and Joan#1 whenever they came over for dinner, which was about once a week. They were trying to teach Remy to cook. It was failing, but Patton managed to save it most of the time and he and Joan managed to make whatever Remy tried to make edible. Patton was the one with the culinary skills of the family. 

The rest of them made do with instant noodles and pizza. 

They loved pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and credit is to my sister for the idea of hot cereal. She's such a lovable dork. 
> 
> Annywwayyy.... I hope you are having a lovely day, and that it gets even better!~
> 
> <3


	41. A Princely Mask

Frisk was twiddling their thumbs in the void.  
They were bored. So they decided to practice summoning a Flowey. It fizzled to life, then disappeared. They were still bored.  
They retreated from their SAVE screen after SAVING, blinking their eyes as they jolted awake.  
Maybe they should go visit the Sanders.  
They walked downstairs to go tell Sans.

\-----

They walked down the street, looking around. It was pretty cold, but that was expected for early December. They couldn’t wait for the holidays. Specifically Gyftmas. They had to decide what to get for everyone. Fortunately they still had a month to decide.

 

Then a wild Patton appeared, and ran past them, followed by Remy’s friend Joan.

  
“Stop! How much caffeine did you have! Gosh darnit Sanders! You’ve been running for four hours!”

  
Frisk looked on in confusion. How did Patton get his hands on caffeine? He was banned from sugar and energy drinks of any kind as far as you knew. Welp that was one thing to ask them. They journeyed onwards, arriving at the house five minutes later.

  
They rang the doorbell. Thomas answered. “Hey Frisk! I appreciate you coming around, but this isn’t really the best time.” You summoned a fireball silently. He shrugged and stepped aside. You dissipated the magic and the two of you peered around the corner. It was chaos.

Logan, Remy, Dee, and Virgil were hiding behind a downturned table. You saw a few yellow samurai swords imbedded into the walls and a sleepwalking Roman. You pulled out your phone.

 

 **Friskybits: Hey Sans? We have a Code Untold. Roman’s sleepwalking again.**  
**Snas: on my way.**

 

You put it away, eyes focused on the scene before you. You signed to Virgil, who was freaking out a little.

  
[Sans is on his way.] He nodded, relaxing a bit and signing back.

  
[We came in from buying a new microwave and saw this. Roman must have fallen asleep. He’s not acting like himself lately. He tried to trap us against the wall with some swords, but we managed to get out of the way. I think he’s trapped in his mind.]

  
The door opened silently, and you felt Sans standing behind you. You felt a flicker of magic.

  
“wow.” That was really all that could be said. You signed.

  
[I saw Patton and Joan#1 on my way here. They’re in the area at least if we happen across an emergency.]

  
[Joan can use a sword semi-well, so they’re not a bad backup plan. And a hyper Patton is a force to be reckoned with.] He summoned his wings. [Let’s get out of here.] They huddled close and ran for the door. You threw it open, and you all converged outside.

  
“So what actually happened? Tell us the details.”

  
Logan straightened his tie. “Okay. Remy lit the microwave on fire again, so we had to go out to buy another one. We left Roman and Dee in charge of the house, and when we came back Dee was hiding behind a table and Roman was acting weird. He had nothing to tie him down with, because he really has no magic that we know of, so he hid behind a table. We tried to tie him down with my ropes, but he fended us off with those samurai swords you saw stuck in the wall. So we hid until you came in.”

  
Oh. Well then. This was bad.

  
“anyone know why he sleepwalks? anything?”

  
“Our best guess is that he’s trying to do things in his sleep what he can’t in real life.”

  
Virgil had his hood over his head. “ **So he feels powerless. That’s fixable, right?** ” He was using his deeper voice. He was panicked.

  
“Yes, but I don’t think he feels powerless. I think he feels like he has little control over everything- life, himself, everyone else, all of that. He’s doing what he can to force control.”

  
“ **But he doesn’t even know he’s doing it! How can he try to exercise control if he doesn’t know what he’s doing?** ”

  
“Maybe he’s jealous of the control others seem to have over their lives. He feels lost. He doesn’t want to feel that way, but he is, if only subconsciously.”

  
“So he’s doing all this because he’s jealous? That doesn’t make sense!” Dee looked up, fingers pressed together and eyes shining.

  
“Oh on the contrary. It’s simple really. Roman has always been a bit of a control freak. You know this, I know this, he knows this. He feels at a loss of control, and that is affecting his mental health. He’s going to such extremes to keep his worldview real that he expends all of his energy on it. He’s lying to himself, and those delusions are the hardest to break.”

  
There was silence.

  
“Deceit- Dee. That was rather astute. I’m impressed.” Dee mimicked Patton’s voice.

  
“Well I’m morality! I’ve gotta know my stuff!” They cringed.

  
“No. Just no.” Thomas shook his head at Dee. You felt like you were missing some sort of inside joke.

  
“But seriously. I manipulate people subconsciously. It’s what I do. I have to know my stuff. How do you think I learned all of my knowledge?” He adjusted his gloves. One eye seemed to flash yellow. “Let’s do this.”

 

\----

 

Roman was still muttering to himself and looking around the room. You crowded around the door. Sans floated towards the ceiling using blue magic. Logan made strings. Virgil made his wings. Dee did some finger exercises. He didn’t reply when you asked why. Remy snagged an umbrella. You concentrated, and prepared for war.

  
You equipped the frying pan. Logan rolled his eyes at the absurdity of physics. Sans’s eyelights darkened, and bones materialized. Wow. Just how powerful was Roman? You didn’t want to find out.

  
Logan and Virgil moved first, Logan stringing strings at key points, and Virgil providing cover for when Roman noticed. The man seemed consumed in his order. This was... weird.

  
Then, just as they returned, Roman’s head snapped up. You all held your breath. He turned around slowly. His eyes were open, but they were dazed, glassy, almost like something else resided in them entirely. Anything that screamed ‘Roman’ was gone. Your eyes widened, along with Sans’s eyesockets. This had all of the tells of The Player.

  
This was bad.

  
“Roman” advanced forwards a step, magic flickering around “him”. You all scattered except Dee. You looked at him, bewildered. What the heck was he thinking?! “Roman” was readying energy, and it was starting to take form into… a dragon-witch? Dee still didn’t look afraid. He simply smirked, tilted his head, and you saw a flash of yellow from his left eye as he twisted his hand. “Roman’s” hand, who was readying a sword, went flying over “his” mouth, the sword flying across the room. What. The. Hell.

  
What kind of crazy magic was this?!

  
You took a deep breath, and SAVED, just in case. You felt something… wrong. You couldn’t SAVE?

  
Shit. You only had one shot. Sans sensed that something was off. He swiveled his head towards you, and you shook your head.

  
There was no MERCY for the damned. And you all were pretty screwed. You mentally shrugged and threw the pan as “Roman” was distracted by “his” hand, which seemed glued to “his” mouth. It hit “him” in the head. You all winced as “he” crumpled to the ground, the energy around “him” dissipating. You all held your breath, even Sans, who didn’t even have lungs.

  
The figure stirred after a few seconds. It raised its hand to its head. “What the heckity-heck just happened?! Why am I on the floor?” He looked around. “Why is the furniture pushed up against the walls? Why are all of you here?! Why-?” He blinked a few times, looking over them. “Are you hurt? Did I hurt you? Oh-my-dear-sweet-jasmine I am so sorry I-“ He was interrupted as the door slammed open and Patton flew in, crushing Roman in a bone-crushing hug. Joan looked past the door into the house.

  
“What the fu-“ They saw that Patton’s head was turning. “-udgesickles happened here? Thomas?” They switched direction as they surveyed the room.

  
“You don’t want to know.” Virgil said darkly, starting to straighten everything up. Remy sensed the tense atmosphere.

  
“I’ll call you later hon. Maybe we can go get those scones you like too, as payment for helping with Patton. Make it a gurls night.” Joan looked around once more, gave a thumbs up in confusion, then left, closing the door behind them.

  
There was a tense silence. Sans disappeared. Logan straightened his tie. Dee adjusted his gloves and picked at his sleeves. Then Sans popped back into being, causing quite a few startled screams. He pointed towards Remy and Dee, who stared back at him.

  
“you and you. come to the lab tomorrow for some scans.” He disappeared again. The silence was heavier. Roman straightened up.

  
“Anyone want to watch the fifth season of Lost?”

  
Virgil glared at him as he moved the dining room table. You bid a hasty goodbye and retreated.

  
You had a feeling things suddenly became a lot more interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This chapter is very significant to a certain.... couple of characters. I hope you enjoy, and I should be posting another chapter on Wednesday! 
> 
> **I went back and edited a lot of stuff- what was in sign language had been deleted because I had used something that wouldn't transfer well between the two mediums of how I post things and I, being a bit of an idiot, hadn't noticed until now. I also made it that Thomas didn't have magic- he's not supposed to, but somehow he did. If he had magic he'd have green magic, but he is magic-free. He can wield other people's magic though. I also found where to italicize and bold stuff, which is great, so that part is fixed for the most part. There are probably a few things I missed but I spent an entire hour editing so I honestly could care less at this point.**
> 
> Thank you for reading however, and I hope you all have a great day! Sorry for any inconvenience, and STAY DETERMINED!


	42. Diagnostics

*-so the player returned? And took over Roman?*

Frisk nodded. Flowey blinked. So did Chara.

“*Well why the hell would they do that?*”

*And why would Roman let them?*

You shrugged, eating some of the popcorn Chara had brought out. You didn’t know where they had gotten the idea. But it was super good. You swallowed.

“I think that Roman would subconsciously fight The Player while he was awake, so they did it when he was asleep.”

 

They heard Sans outside the door. "you guys talking about roman?"

"Yeah. We both know he was controlled by the player. We think he was resisting in real life so the Player controlled him while he was asleep." He stared at the group. “huh.”

*Not much to go on, but I don’t think it’s a bad start.*

“And Roman is a control freak.” They sat there for a minute in silence.

“you guys mind coming to the lab tomorrow too? you too flowerface.” Flowey groaned.

“Fine.”

*Okay.*

“We’ll be there.” Sans saluted and disappeared. You all stared at each other, then you dug your hand back into the popcorn.

Mmmm…. caramel.

 

 

\-------

 

You, Chara, and Flowey walked into the Lab, ignoring the protestors as usual. It was sad, really, the way they sat out in the freezing cold all day for a cause few were interested in. Then again, Virgil had been shot because of them, so they weren’t completely useless. They were lucky he hadn’t been killed. There would be hell to pay.

*Frisk? You’re overheating again.* You tried to calm down.

“Sorry.” Ever since you had learned fire magic you reacted in the same way as your mother- slightly hotheaded. You had to tell that to Sans. He’d find it hilarious.

You met up with Dee, Remy, and Roman in the lobby. You waved. They waved back, Roman shrinking slightly. You had forgotten about his version of events. You smiled at him. “How you doing guys?”

“Tired. I need more coffee to function hon.” As usual.

“Horrible.” So great, as usual.

“Les Miserable.” Was that a play on words? Patton would be proud. Shame it was a negative emotion.

“Roman, everything’s fine. We don’t blame you.”

“Virge was avoiding me. I wouldn’t call that everyone.” Oh. Virgil was in one of his moods again.

“That might not be because of you. He’s been feeling really stressed lately, and that could have just tipped him over the edge. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“Nevertheless, I still hurt you guys.”

“That wasn’t ‘you’ Roman. That was an otherworldly being called The Player.”

*We can explain everything later.* He nodded, spacing out slightly. You realized what was happening.

“Don’t beat yourself up. It is a temporary problem, and we can find a permanent solution, even if it takes a while.” He forced himself back to reality.

“Thanks.” You smiled at him as Alphys opened the door that led into the labs. She ushered you through. You followed.

 

\-----

 

They looked at the monitors. The kids were chatting out in the break room, and Alphys felt reasonably confident that the soundproofing times would work.

“W-What do you mean he has an u-unknown magic?!”

Gaster sighed. “Listen. You know as well as I do that most of the historical records from before the war were destroyed. Therefore, it is completely possible; no, highly likely even, that we will come across unknown magic. We already have with Virgil- it it unlikely to come across it with this Deceit fellow?”

“H-He goes by Dee, and while th-that is possible, I still wouldn’t call it probable. We’re not running off of baseless information here. The r-records that survived-“

“BAH! Records! Records are made to be improved upon! We are entering a golden age of magical research here! What is the problem having more discoveries?”

“W-Well, it’s the information we have gathered, not the information we have. I’m all for m-making improvements Doctor, you know that. It’s just- he has the visible chromatics and colour patterns of a Yellow SOUL, but his statistics and personality are more of a Perseverance, maybe even Bravery SOUL. There are too many mixed messages. The magic signature, the colour… it’s all yellow, but his stats and personality intercede. I-It’s a rather intriguing case.” She nervously adjusted her glasses.

Gaster sighed. “Look, maybe I will get Corsiva to come. She worked more with SOULS than I did- I mostly worked with Physics and more… grounded rules of reality. I only had a few side projects that went out of my comfort zone.” He pulled out his phone and dialed. “Maybe she has information unknown to us.” He raised it to the side of his skull, where one’s ear would be. She heard the tinny of a voice.

[Hello?]

“Hello Corsiva, it’s WD. We were wondering if you could drop by the lab to see some of these diagnostics. This Dee fellow… he has the colourings of a yellow individual but the statistics and personality of a Perseverance SOUL… not to mention the abilities are unheard of… mimicry… manipulation… I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

[Okay… it seems to me you have a classic case of SOUL Discombobulation. The colours and patterns of a certain type, but the abilities and stats of another… maybe a different magic altogether. This sometimes happens when there is an unbalanced trait ratio… is he rather one sided perhaps? Stubborn to the point of unyielding? Manipulative? Perhaps tried to convince others that his point of view is what they were going for all along? From the description of his power set this seems likely… you know that even among humans there are magical variants, even if they are less common or diverse. Maybe this is what is happening here? A skewed ratio along with slightly more personalized magic? There seems to be powerful Magic in that family… You said they were all related?]

“Somehow, but that is correct, yes.”

[Hmm. That would go along with the theories of magical lineage… I’ll come up and chat. I’m on your side of town anyways. I can meet them and confer with the two of you. See you in a minute!]

The call ended.

“H-How did she know I was here?”

“She has a knack for sensing magical signatures. It’s why she is so good at SOUL research. I’m rather jealous to be honest.”

“F-Fair enough.” Alphys went out to tell the kids the news. “Doctor Gaster’s wife is c-coming over to review some chromatics and other statistics, s-so just to let you know there will be more people in here if you start to feel like you need some space. M-My office is right there if you want some space- I know Frisk can get overwhelmed easily and wanted to extend th-the invitation to you two. I-I have some manga on the second shelf to the right you can read if you wish to as well.”

“Thank’s Alphys!”

“Thank you Doctor Alphys.”

“It is most unappreciated.” Dee clapped his hands over his mouth. He swallowed hard. “M-My apologies. Sarcasm. All the time. I usually mean the opposite of what I say, but if I sincerely mean it you will know. I am so sorry.” He looked truly repentant. Why was he a constant backwards talker? Maybe it had to do with some of his SOUL traits…Alphys mentally shook her head.

“I-It’s fine! I’m used to interpreting speech patterns with the Temmies, so I-I’ll just keep that in mind.” The sound of the door opening caused them to jump. Corsiva was here. And Sans.

“wow. i know i’m a skeleton, but i didn’t mean to make you jump out of your skin.”

There were a few chuckles. Corsiva waved. “Hello. I am Corsiva, but some of you might have heard of me already if Doctor Alphys mentioned I was coming. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello Corsiva!”

“Sup.”

Dee just waved, not trusting his voice to say something unintentional. Chara and Flowey nodded their greetings.

“Hello! It is a pleasure to meet you!” Roman seemed a little better than he was earlier, but still not great. But at least he was trying, which was good. Corsiva chuckled.

“Thank you for the warm welcome! Speaking of warm…” Sans floated in a box of pizza. “I was right by the pizza place when my husband called, so I got some for everyone! I hope everyone likes pepperoni and cheese.” They opened the large box on the table and grabbed a few pieces.

“Thank you!”

“It is a pleasant surprise for sure.”

*You know how much I love pizza.*

“Can someone pass me a piece? I don’t have hands.”

“Hold up- let me post a picture of everyone! Ya’ll are so gosh darn adorbs!” Remy snagged a selfie with everyone, the pizza in the centre. “Perfect! Does anyone object to being on social media? I want to make sure not to out anyone of you honeybunches.” That was Remy. Constantly posting, but if anyone he didn’t know was in it he would make sure it was okay.

“Feel free to post! Our faces are on the internet already.”

“Oh gurl! I totally forgot that almost all of you are famous! Wow I’m in a room of celebrities! Joan, my friend Joan, not the greanbean you all know, owes me five dollars!”

“wait, there are two joans?”

“Th-That will get confusing.”

“We usually use Joan #1 and Joan #2. Joan #1 Is Remy’s friend, Joan #2 is the one most of us are familiar with.”

There was a general sound of epiphanies.

“That is rather clever.”

“Thanks. Thomas and Patton came up with it.”

They continued to eat their pizza. Corsiva went over to her husband’s room to look at the chromatics with Alphys and Sans. Sure enough, they couldn’t hear anything. Welp. That was disappointing.

 

\-----

 

“So that seems like a classic case of SOUL Discombobulation. Yeah- it also matches up with what I’ve seen of his personality. I think the unbalanced aspects seem to have an effect on the ways he communicates, judging from what I noticed. He seemed guilty. Was he speaking oddly?”

“H-He seems to have trouble communicating in the way he wishes. He seems to say the opposite of what he means. L-Like if he likes something he says he hates it, or if he says he’s feeling horrible he’s feeling pretty good. Maybe it’s a result of some of these unbalances? Maybe the mixture of Justice and Perseverance and Bravery? They seem very disconnected, and maybe having them be unbalanced like this caused these kinds of things.” Then she thought hard. “But he can speak the truth if he focuses hard on the meaning. If he’s apologizing or driven by extreme emotions maybe?”

“Possibly.”

“i could see what information i can find.”

“All I know is when we tell him we have to suggest either ways of helping or something logical. It’s hard having an explanation to a problem but not a way to fix it.”

“T-True.”

“let’s get to work then.”

“I missed working with you all.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun thinking about how Deceit acts the way he does, and this kinda just jumped out at me. I hope you enjoyed, and have a great day! 
> 
> There are a lot of... interesting things in store.  
> *Insert maniacal cackle.*
> 
> *Coughs* Well, have a lovely day! Until next chapter! Thank you for reading!


	43. Dissapparation

Frisk, Chara, Flowey, and the others were playing a game on Remy’s phone. Flowey looked completely done. He had no hands, so some of the main functions of the game were useless. He couldn’t hold the phone, tap the screen, or do anything. You knew he would’ve chucked it at the ground had it not been for the fact that it was someone else’s phone.

“So I know you guys have magic; I saw the video of… that conference… before all heck broke loose, but what exactly can you guys create? Are there guidelines or limitations?” Remy took back his phone.

“Well, it does differ from person to person, and we think it’s hereditary, which is why you guys are here in the first place; not only because of the hand thing you did yesterday Dee. Uh… let me see if I remember this right. Logan has perseverance traits, which is why he can produce string-like magic. It’s correlated with it for some reason, but I can’t remember what. Gaster could probably tell you if you wanted to look into it. Green traits, like Thomas and Undyne, have to do with kindness and MERCY- you can create shields, healing bullets, and all of those sorts of defensive objects that can help others or yourself. We think there might be some correlation to why Virgil has purple shields. Virge’s is a different trait we know very little about, so I can’t reallt do an in-depth summary here. Then Patton has Integrity, which acts with a lot of special stuff- hence the teleportation abilities. They can also control the gravity of SOULS. That’s probably why it was so hard for Joan to catch him, as I’m thinking about it.”

Frisk took in a deep breath.

 “Anyway, I have a Determined SOUL, which is red, and we don’t really know much about it, but we think it might have something to do with time because of some older records we’ve found. Patience, which is a lighter blue, can affect attacks for the most part, which is why Sans can summon those blue bones. If you don’t move when they pass you, they do no damage. Bravery; which I’m surprised none of you guys have by the way- I totally thought some of you would qualify for it but hey, don’t make assumptions. It affects the speed of things. If it’s an attack, you must be moving for it to do little damage. If it’s your SOUL, you move faster and jump higher. Then Justice, which you have Roman, is yellow.  If someone attacks you, you can attack them back with a bullet. You have a cool samurai sword, which I don’t know what that’s about, but whatever. It’s cool. Other than that I don’t think I missed any… except that Monster SOULS are white because they are pure magic. They have attacks similar to their species or personality.”

“Wow.”

*Welp, it seems this political business does put something into that head of yours.*

“Gee thanks.”

Sans came out of the office. “okay. dee, you’re set up and we can tell you all about it, remy, i’m sorry but we had some technical difficulties and we haven’t run the numbers quite yet. should be just a minute, enjoy the pizza. we’ll get to you eventually roman, sorry this is taking so long.”

“It’s no problem. Honestly, I’m just surprised that not one Monster has mixed us up. Humans do it all the time.”

“we have to keep track of the temmies, so it comes with the job. if you would come with me dee, that would be great.”

Dee gave a thumbs up and walked in with Sans, closing the door behind him. There was a silence.

“Is there any more pizza?”

 

\-----

 

“So I don’t have a magic imbalance? Will there not be any long-term complications?”

“W-Well it’s not exactly a magic imbalance, more like a trait imbalance. These happen e-every once in a while, so it’s perfectly normal. You still should be able to live a normal life and stuff.”

“You just have to work on self-control to limit the backwards speech for the future. It seems you have everything figured out for the short term, with your family and friends being used to the speech pattern, but you may want to work in it for the eventual meeting of new people.”

“Fair enough. I can probably do that.”

“well let’s not work strictly on probability, alright? that messes up someone in more ways than one can imagine, especially in science.”

“Not true, not true.”

“S-So be optimistic. Th-There is most likely a solution! W-We just have to find it…”

“As for that, we have some time. If you want to try doing something about it now, you can try to limit the backwards speech. If you can’t, try to find ways to manage it. I’m assuming you want to join your friends outside.”

“Well, you are not correct about that. Thank you for not bringing this to my attention I guess. Never see you guys around then I guess.”

And with that he left the room.

They started on Remy’s calculations. This was going to be a busy day.

 

\------

 

Remy’s calculations were rather straightforward. He seemed to have an Integrity SOUL, but not much in the way of magical energy- basic abilities was all it looked like. There were a few inconsistencies, but it seemed like they wouldn’t amount to too much in the long run. He seemed almost relieved when this came up.

“It’s not like I want to be a tank hon. I just want to live my life. Bring able to produce Starbucks Giftcards out of thin air would be great though. Save me a lot of moola.” True. That would be a useful gift.

“Wait, can’t humans who have the capacity to do magic learn monster magic? Could Remy learn basic bullet patterns or something as a self defense?”

“yeah, but he’d probably learn some basic integrity magic. basic teleportation, maybe soul control, but that’s rather hard to learn. your cousin is just working on the teleportation stuff for now.” Ah, he meant Patton.

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m good with basic human shiz fam. It’s lit enough as it is. Besides, you guys are such powerhouses that I’ll probably have some major magic on my side. In the meantime, I can see if I can ask Alphys about the phone modifications you were talking about gurl.”

“She’s happy to put in everything but the jetpack. That still needs some safety improvements, but there’s a cool bullet mode where you can have a cool yellow weapon like Roman!”

“That’s pretty cool Rem. You can have a night-stick.” You all groaned at the pun. Roman realized what he said. “Wow, Patton really has been influencing me. You know, Logan made a pun the other day. Patton was so happy he choked on air from squealing.” He did that a lot.

“Was it about Crofters? That would’ve been less jarring.”

“Good one. It was actually just a random sentence that managed to be a pun. He denies it, but I think Virgil has video evidence that you guys sent him.”

“wow. didn’t think the kid had it in him. he really would be a good fit in here if he tells puns.”

*Sorry to bust your bubble but he reacts like a less emotional Papyrus whenever someone tells one.*

“oh. well at least that’ll be fun to see his reaction. he really does seem like he’d be a good fit here though.”

“Are you considering him for the intern position Marrow-lyn Monroe?”

“he’s a genius with logarithms and doesn’t seem to get frustrated with logical things as easily as many. a bit hotheaded, but other than that he has the ability and drive.”

“He does like the scientific aspects of everything, so that does make sense. He was able to read the entire dictionary from front to back by the time he was seven, so that does seem like an activity he’d enjoy. Are they paid or unpaid?”

“depends on the intern. if logan wants college credits we can do that, if he wants money we can do that instead. we personalize it for the individual. works better that way.”

“Clever. He’ll probably go for the money if I’m not mistaken. As much as he loves college credits, he’ll probably get more long-time use out of the money so he can buy more books. He practically lives in the library on the time he’s not in school or being dragged around by one of us.”

“And it would help with the microwave situation.” You were smirking as you glanced in Remy’s direction.

“OH MY GOD IT DOESN’T HAPPEN THAT OFTEN!”

*You’ve been through four in the last month.*

“But I’ve only broken three hon. The other just broke when Thomas tried cooking while Patton was running errands.”

There was silence.

“It still doesn’t say much when you’ve broken more microwaves in a month than most do in a year.”

“Shut it flowerface.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m gonna decline.” He wore a self-satisfied smirk.

They continued to argue as Alphys came in and called for Roman, You, Chara, and Sans. You followed them into Alphys’s office. She cleared some manga off of the chairs and offered you all seats. You sat.

“O-Okay… Sans told me what h-happened and what you think may be t-the reasons why.”

“Okay, because I haven’t managed to get the full story out of anyone. Dee doesn’t really want to talk about it in detail, Virgil’s avoiding me, Remy was out buying the microwave for most of it and doesn’t want to tell most of it either, and Logan has holed himself up in his room to theorize. Patton was out on a caffeine high, and Thomas has been busy video editing with Joan and Talyn and I don’t want to bother them.”

Sans took in a deep breath. “okay. i don’t know what happened before frisk came in in full detail, but i can try to fill in most of it. you were watching disney movies with dee when you fell asleep. he thought nothing of it until you began to sleepwalk. everyone else was out doing various things, and the two of you were alone in the house.”

“Okay. That matches what I found out. Go on.”

“you moved the furniture up against the walls and started to build a circle. we still don’t know why the circles, but we think it has something to do with your subconscious. anyway, dee apparently tried to stop you but you fended him off with your magic.”

Roman closed his eyes tight, but then opened them, determined to hear the rest. “Go on.”

“at this point they returned from their trip and found out what was going on. you fended them off again, and they hid with dee by the table. you kept re-arranging objects. then frisk came over to hang, and the seven of them retreated outside after frisk texted me to come over.”

“Okay.”

“They tried grouping together to get you subdued, and I was there to help. However….” He raised his hands to make quotation marks. “ “You” fended them off with some magic thing that I still have no idea what it was. Some kind of massive dragon thing. What did you say it was frisk?”

“A dragon-witch.”

Roman furrowed his brows. “But that makes no sense. I made up the Dragon-Witch as a fairytale creature for one of Thomas’s videos. I made a character concept and everything. It’s not real.”

Sans nodded. “We know. But you made it out of magic.”

Roman’s mouth dropped open. “Great Odin’s Eyepatch. There’s no way in Narnia I could have that power. Surely there was someone- something else? Frisk said something about an otherworldly being?”

You nodded. “It’s an otherworldly being known as The Player. They believe this world is a game, and can manipulate people like game sprites. They manipulated me and Chara for a while, creating multiple complications too detailed to go into. The basic thing is that we think they were controlling you. They do not enhance power, just control it.”

Roman looked dumbstruck. “What the he-“ His phone beeped, obscuring his words. It was probably for the better. “Sorry, that was my textone. Anyway, what the heck?! What, I’m being controlled by an otherworldly being in my sleep as it uses me to control the world?! How are any of you not in danger?! It could gain control and I could kill you right now! How do you know it’s not listening?”

“It has to be intentional…” Sans whipped around.

“what?”

“You have to be willing. You and I- we’re natural fighters. The only way they were ever able to control me was when I was almost dead. You’re too strong-willed for them to be able to try to control you when you’re conscious. I know. I ended up not resisting after they came. I thought they were help… or that I was dead. Then I realized that it was all real. After we came up on the surface… they thought the game was over. They relinquished their control. Now they want to play the game again. I’m not willing, so they’re trying to control you as a backup plan. They want to force my hand with someone I’m close to.”

Roman blinked. “I had no idea. I’m sorry if I brought up something you were trying to forget.”

“It’s fine.”

“If you say so. So what now? Do you have to tie me up when I sleep? Beat The Player up? What happens? I don’t want to be afraid to sleep for crying out loud.”

“for now we can probably just find a way to confine you. it’s not the best solution, but it is fast and easy. papyrus never sleeps, so if you want him to he can guard you.”

“I don’t want him to go to any trouble. What kind of confines? Are we talking magic or jail cell?”

“magic. it’s easier and more effective. I’ll conjure up some bones or something- it’s not that hard to do.”

“Okay…. Do we just want to try if Logan can tie me down? This is kinda awkward, and if possible I want to keep the shreds of my pride intact.”

“we can try it. dunno if it’ll work, but worth a try. do your parents know about any of this?”

“We live with our Uncle, or our Dad. We just have to be more careful in the future- spar in the backyard or at your place or something. They’re going out of town and we are being watched by Napstablook of all people.”

“huh. can’t imagine dad letting us get away with that when we were kids. we had to practice either outside or in the lab.”

“Ah well, as long as nothing too bad happens we should be fine- what was that?” There was a loud crash from outside. Sans teleported away to look. You all crowded against the door, trying to see what was happening. Patton of all people appeared.

“Dee texted me to get you guys. Come on.” He grabbed a few of you, turned the rest of your SOULS blue and held you close, and blue static filled your vision. Then you realized that Patton just used side-along dissapparation. Cool.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are going to be.... interesting. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and feel free to comment with constructive criticism if you wish or leave kudos. It really does make my day. Thank you, and have a great day!


	44. Call of the cell phone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild surprise chapter appeared! Woohoo!

Virgil received a text from Dee.

 

**Sneakysnake: Riot at the lab. Need backup. Patton teleported Roman Alphys Chara Flowey and Frisk away.**

**Panic@theEverywhere: On my way. Why can’t they fight?**

**Sneakysnake: They can, they just don’t want them to get hurt. Hurry.**

 

Virgil ran out of the door, hoping everyone was all right. The NMC had kept a reasonably low profile for the last few months, so they should have expected this was going to happen. Virgil heard a car horn. He looked around and saw Undyne in her battered blue pickup truck.

“Hop in.” He did. They sped off towards the Lab.

 

\----

 

Papyrus and Mettaton were looking at some clothes when they got the text from Sans at the same time. Papyrus noticed a nearby shortcut that they had used to get here.

 

**COOL DUDE: ON OUR WAY!**

 

Papyrus scooped up his husband bridal style and ran towards it. They phased through to the Lab.

Their family was in trouble.

 

\-----

 

 Toiel was taking a pie out of the oven as she heard the textone from Sans. The trombone went off in the classic ditty. She set down the pie and got it.

 

 

**snas: riot at the lab. texted asgore and grillbz. hurry. nmc**

**Goatmom: Okay!**

 

 

She ran out of the door. If anyone lay a hand on either of her children they were going to PAY.

She was as determined as her SOUL would allow.

 

\-----

 

Asgore was drinking tea with Borealis when his phone went off.

“Could you be a dear and get that for me?”

“Yep.” She crossed the room to get it for him. She stopped.

“Uh… Asgore?”

“Yes? What is the issue?”

“There’s a riot at the Lab. We need to cover for backup. Get the SOULS too on the way. The Heads’re there.”

“Let me go get my armor.”

There would be heck to pay if anyone was turned to dust.

He wouldn’t have another one die at his hands, even if it was because of someone else.

 

\----

 

Grillby was wiping off his bar, listening to Gerson tell his war stories. He’d rather not relive the warrior days, but if he could help the old tortoise he would. His telephone rang. He crossed the room to answer it. He cleared his throat.

“….Hello?”

“heya grillbz. code salem. doc said you’d understand.”

“….On my Way.”

He signed to Gerson.

[Problem at the Lab. They need backup. You coming War Hero?]

“You bet I am!” They walked out of the bar. Grillby swung the sign to CLOSED.

The fight was on.

And Grillby was not going to let another die to the humans.

His past wouldn’t let him.

But that was a thing to ponder for another day.

There was trash to be taken out.

 

\-----

 

They appeared in a cave. “Uh, Patton?”

“That’s my name don’t wear it out.” He was sweating a little.

“How did you teleport us all the way to the Cave Entrance to the Underground?” He raised his hands to his temples.

“That explains why I feel so tired. I imagined a place far away from there, and I guess I must be FedEx because I sure delivered.” He swayed a bit. “I’m going to take a little cat-nap. Wake me up if something bad happens.” He curled up on the floor and fell asleep like a light.

“O-Oh s-stars. O-Oh my g-gosh. All of m-my p-projects…. All of m-my plans… n-not to mention th-the others….” Alphys was starting to freak out a little.

*It’ll be okay Alphys. Take a few deep breaths.*

“Any chance you idiots have a way to get me down there? I have some frustration to let out on those jerkwads.”

“Flowey, no swearing.”

‘So THAT’S what you’re hung up about?!”

“It’s the only thing under my control, so yes. Now please be quiet. I have to come up with a plan.”

“Why don’t we climb down?”

“Roman, it took me three days to hike up here. There’s no way we can get back down manually. Patton is too tired to teleport us back, and none of us are Integrity SOULS.”

“What about that dragon-witchy thing you were talking about earlier?” You all looked at Flowey.

“What?”

“Well, if you can make that dragon-thing again, couldn’t we fly down there or something?”

*Flowey, that would take a lot of time and energy to-*

“Might as well try. We can’t just stand here while the others are getting themselves killed on our behalf.”

You all stared at Roman. “But you said that you didn’t have the-“

“What I said doesn’t matter. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Who’s with me? Can you guys think of anything else?”

“U-h, Roman, I-I wouldn’t-“

“It’s not like we have any other choice! Frisk has the jetpack thing on their phone, right? They can fly using that for at least part of the way. Do you have the stuff to modify some of ours?”

“N-No, the supplies are at the L-Lab. B-But what are you-“

“I can try to make a dragon-witch, and Frisk and Flowey can use the Jetpack.”

“Actually, I can just tunnel back if I can get out of this pot. Maybe get some supplies, steal some SOULS-“

“No stealing SOULS.”

“Ah, you’re no fun. I can put them back afterwards.”

“Then why don’t you take ours to get us down there? If you can put them back afterwards then-“

“No.”

*It’s the best option Frisk.*

“But it’s not our only one! What about Roman’s ties to The Player? What about-“

“Then I can ride on the dragon if you’re worried about what effects that will have on Flowey.”

“But we don’t even know if it works!”

“G-Guys, why don’t we-“

“OH MY GOD! WHAT ARE THE SIX OF YOU DOING DOONBOGGLING AROUND? LET’S GO!”

You were never as happy to see Papyrus in your whole life. Not even that time you got lost in the mall.

“PAPYRUS!”

Patton woke up. “Where’s the fire?” He jolted up, then saw the skeleton. “Oh, heya Papyrus.”

“HELLO SLEEPY HUMAN! WE ARE GOING TO GO! DID YOU FORGET ABOUT THE SHORTCUT HERE?”

Yep. But wait- “Aren’t there seven of us? Two of us can’t use it.”

“I can tunnel.”

“I can FLY!” Roman raised his hand in the air.

“FLOWERY CAN TUNNEL, BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE WINGS HUMAN!”

“I can try to create a dragon-witch! Or float on my swords or something!”

“Why can’t we go through it twice?”

“A LARGE GROUP SUCH AS OURS MAKES IT NEED A COOLDOWN PERIOD.”

*Then who’ll stay behind?* Flowey grew tired of your shenanigans and tunneled away.

Speaking of tunneling…

“Why can’t we go through the Underground?”

“Or just ask me to take you. This isn’t SOUL science. Or Rocket Science as you humans are so fond of saying.” Gaster had popped into thin air. “I noticed you were gone and figured you had left to find the children. I also figured that because this is a point of concentrated magic that you would naturally have been led here Patton. So I came up to resolve this issue.”

“GOOD IDEA DAD!”

*So everyone but Frisk can go with Papyrus, and Frisk can go with Gaster! Easy peasy, and Flowey won’t have to get any SOULS and Roman won’t have to fly.*

“Fine. That is the most logical choice.”

“Gee kiddo! You’re starting to sound like Logan! Do I need to get you some Crofters?”

“No. I’m just dreading going into battle.”

“WHO SAID WE WERE GOING THERE? I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO YOUR HOUSE!”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no. We’re going to the lab. My family is fighting there, and I have to join them.”

“TRUE THAT PRINCE DUDE!”

“I can teleport Frisk home and then bring you along to the Lab with me. This is a relatively simple matter.”

“AND I CAN RUN OVER AFTER MAKING SURE YOU ARE ALL ALRIGHT!”

Frisk looked DETERMINED. “I’m not going to let you risk your lives for us. If you’re going to fight, I will too.” They summoned some fireballs. “I’m not useless. You need a proper tactician other than Logan, and I have some decent fighting skills.”

“I-I have some r-robots I can use. They j-just need to be p-piloted.”

“I can pilot one!”

Gaster dragged his hand across his face in exasperation. “The queen is going to kill me if you get hurt, but I can’t go against your wishes now can I? This is a rather sticky predicament.”

“NONSENSE! IF THOSE WHO WANT TO FIGHT CAN RAISE YOUR HANDS, THIS WOULD BE GREAT!” Frisk, Roman, and Chara raised their hands. Patton would’ve but he said he needed to sleep. They did not want a sleep-deprived Sanders on their hands. They got grumpy fast. Even him, the ever-patient and peppy Patton. Papyrus nodded. “OKAY! FRISK, YOU AND THE OTHERS WHO WANT TO FIGHT CAN GO WITH ME TO THE LAB, AND DAD, YOU CAN TAKE PATTON TO OUR HOUSE! HE SHOULD HAVE PLENTY OF PLACES TO REST! THEN YOU CAN JOIN US AND SANS TO DEFEAT OUR FOES!”

“Wait, who are we fighting? We didn’t really get a good look at it before we were teleported away.”

“THE NO MONSTER CAMPAIGN! THEY REALLY ARE AGAINST THE IDEA OF MAGIC AND MONSTER RIGHTS FOR SOME REASON, SO THEY ARE STAGING A NON-PEACEFUL PROTEST ON THE LAB, OUR SOURCE OF TECHNOLOGY!”

“Why they can’t ask us ourselves like reasonable people I have no idea.”

*Weren’t they the people that got Virgil shot?* Patton looked pissed. Roman clenched his fists.

“They’re going to have a word with me for that.” You all blinked at the threat. Then he cleared his throat. “So are we going to go over? I want to make sure the others are okay.” Papyrus grabbed those closest to him except Patton.

“THEN WE ARE OFF!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a surprise second chapter for the day! I hope you enjoyed it, it was only a filler after all, and thank you for reading! 
> 
> (That Warfstache vid right? I'm totally freaking out.)
> 
> The schedule for the next few weeks might get a little off schedule because I'm returning to school, but I'm still going to try to keep it rather consistent. 
> 
> Anyway.... Thank you for reading and have a great day! <3


	45. Riot

They appeared at the Lab. It was chosen for the fact that there was a Shortcut on the premises, so they landed in the middle of chaos. Papyrus ran off to fight with his family.

Frisk summoned some fireballs to give them some space, even though there were most of the people were crowded by the doors of the Lab. Then a familiar spear flew over their heads causing more people to scatter, and they saw Undyne and Virgil hop out of a pickup truck. Virgil summoned his shields and ran over to them, dodging bottles and other such objects.

“Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine! Do you know about the others?” Roman had summoned his sword, knocking away a potted plant.

“I think the major fight is inside. They must’ve sent a small team to sneak in while the larger team distracted us.” Not a bad strategy. Then you saw the mob around the entrance get thrown into the air. Flowey had arrived.

“Can you IDIOTS please leave the premises! I don’t CARE about your STUPID opinions, but WE came UP HERE and we’re going to STAY that WAY!” He kept throwing people to the ground. Then he came upon the group of you. “Howdy! I think the others are inside. Hey Chara, want to smack some idiots in the face?”

*Sure bro!* Flowey gave them a large stick.

“Whack someone in the face for me!”

“Of course!”

They waded through the crowd.

“Well that was unexpected.”

“T-That was an understatement U-Undyne.”

“Let’s find the others.” Roman and Virgil ran off, you running behind them as backup. You went through a locked door, the lock you blasted apart. Sorry Alphys. You ran down the trashed hallway, and saw Remy and Dee in a room. Dee was talking one of the enemies in circles, eventually making him so confused that Remy was able to knock him out with a metal pipe. Remy saw the three of you.

“Hey guys! Nice to see you! Where’s Patton?”

“He’s at Pap’s. He managed to teleport us all to the cave entrance to the Underground. He’s sleeping there.”

“How’d you all get back?”

A familiar slightly static-y voice interrupted them.

“We rode threstrals from Narnia. Now don’t lollygag and let us help my son. Your friend is asleep. Now hurry up before we all get killed.” You turned around to see Gaster holding a bone like a walking stick. He rolled his eyes. “Honestly, you act like you’ve never heard a wake-up call.” He twirled it as he walked away. Classy.

“Patton usually wakes us up Doc. He’s usually… less direct than that.” Virgil stood tall, scrounging around in his pockets. He took out his phone and pressed a button. It turned into a yellow gun in his hand. “Woah, cool. Shall we?” Remy raised his metal pipe.

“Do you think you could kill zombies with this?”

“Don’t think I want to find out.”

They trudged down the hall, holding their magic at the ready. Well, except for Remy. He had a pipe. But it was about two to three feet long, so it was formidable enough. Oh the Clue jokes one could make….

They went into the main Lab, well… basically it was the Lab with the view of the breakroom and the offices. Thomas was there, with a green shield up and Logan typing frantically behind him. You instinctively knocked the people around him away, and they ran. He looked over.

“Guys! You’re here! Logan is putting up as many shields and stuff as possible with some of the stuff that Alphys installed, but it’s a bit of a slow process.”

“Try saying that when you’re the one with a 100 words per minute average. These are just rather complex algorithms. They have layers one has to break through to set it up, then things you have to build up as you exit. It a very detailed and delicate process. Now please stop talking. I have to concentrate.” Logan went back to typing, fingers flying over the keys. Then with a loud thunk, panels descended over the nearest doors and windows. Fortunately the room had been cleared. At least part of the Lab was safe.

“Have you by any chance seen The Doctor? He left to go help Sans.”

“He ran through here about two seconds before you came in, running most of the people out of here with a massive skull thing. It shot lazers.”

“Ah, the Gasterblasters.” Virgil nodded. “Those things pack a punch.”

“You’ve encountered them?”

“I train with Sans and Undyne remember? Sans used them once or twice- had to keep up my shield against them once. Good challenge.”

Wow- wait, he could keep his shields up against those?! Holy crap, that was really impressive. Not even Undyne could do that, and she trained with Asgore.

*Hey idiots!* Flowey tunneled up from the floor, Chara perched on a chair of vines. *Nice to see you!*

“Hey guys. Don’t suppose you have a few SOULS lying around Logan?” He looked up from his typing, surprised.

“Of course not, why would you-“ He saw Flowey. “Oh.” He went back to the keyboard. “Okay, I’ve hacked into the security cameras. Sans and The Doctor are in the West Wing, but they’re getting kinda overwhelmed. I think Undyne is outside, and a Tortoise Monster and Grillby just pulled up in a red convertible. Judging from this, I think they have the outside handled. We should get over to the West Wing quickly.” He snapped closed the laptop, sliding it into a bag and onto his back, securing it with some of his strings like a backpack. He walked swiftly out of the room, keying in some symbols into a keypad and bypassing the security system. The shield slid up with the sound like a sword came out of its sheath. You rushed through, and it closed behind you.

You ran through the hallways, following Logan who could move rather fast when he wanted to. He had cleared a path the whole way down, and it seemed the fight had continued to the West Wing. You SAVED just in case.

You opened another door, and into a large crowd of people. It seemed they were acting as the bodyguards. Then you saw a blue explosion from the other side of the room, and The Doctor and Sans fighting side-by-side, Papyrus backing them with some walls of bones that staggered the incoming enemies.

Of course, Roman being Roman, sprang into action. Crying a battle cry, he summoned another sword and dove in, bashing people on the head with the pummel and knocking them out. The rest of you stood there stunned until a Gaster Blaster appeared and you were jolted back to your senses by the harsh white light burning into your retinas.

As you blinked the light away, the mob finally noticed you. Remy hefted his pipe, but Thomas simply handed him a shield. “Captain America style?”

Remy smiled, grabbing it with his dominant hand and transferring the pipe to his right. “Captain America style.” He threw it, and it whacked the upside of a couple of heads before flashing blue and returning back to his outstretched hand. “Cooool.”

“Wonder at your abilities later. We have a Lab to protect.” Logan procured some strings from the tips of his fingers and started throwing them like Spiderman. Could he swing on buildings? That would be cool.

You summoned some fireballs and threw them, causing some people to run away from the heat. The room started to empty from the various attacks. Logan tied up the slowly rousing people from Roman’s trigger happy knockout session. Then they all faced the group of people who were left.

They were obviously the leaders-they had triangle-shaped patches on their chests in seven colours- the main SOUL colours. The leader- the one in Red, stood forwards.

“Look. We are reasonable people. All we want is for you monsters to go back to the hell-hole you came from and leave us the hell alone.”

“Do you really think you are all so good? That we are evil and dark? That you are the monarch butterflies, and we are the maggots yet turned into flies?” Gaster looked genuinely curious, holding a bone like a walking cane once again. You could almost imagine him in a top-hat. The Orange one scoffed at the skeleton’s words.

“Well of course! You just come on up here and make everyone think you are suffering fools instead of the monsters you are! You killed humans!  You have dark magic! You killed thousands before you were defeated enough to be sealed underground back into the depths where you crawled out of!”

“And that, my dear fellow, is accurate. All views are accurate to their beholder. We just have conflicting views that have more evidence that yours because many of us whom are alive experienced them. Yes, we were sealed under the Earth, but not because of the courageous win by the humans. We were battered back and oppressed by an overwhelming sweep of harsher and more aggressive foes. You killed thousands of us in massacres and raids; pillages and conquests. When full-out war finally came, we barely managed to stop you from trampling us underfoot. Yes, in desperation we were forced to do things we regret with said magic. I experienced much of this firsthand. I have regrets day after day. But we do wish to deserve the basic qualifications of living. Sun, space, the opportunity to experience the simple pleasures in life. The stars, the sound of water lapping on the beach. The joy of seeing those you love living the lives you worked hard for them to have. Do you not see it?”

He smiled at his sons and all of you.

“Here we are. We can enjoy the suns, the shade, the stars, the joys of seeing those I love and know, if distantly, living together and working together to be happy. The impossible was achieved, we all went the distance- and I’m monologuing to nobody.”

The one in Dark Blue looked up from admiring their hand. “Nope. While that was inspiring, A for effort and all that, sure would’ve won a great grade in Speech, I wasn’t listening in the slightest.”

“Well, at least you’re honest. Shall we commence?”

The one in purple looked up. “Well I was listening. Granted, I may be biased, because you all get on my nerves with your anti-everything-good ideals, but it was rather inspiring. I hate to kill you.”

“Well I hate to die.”

“yadda yadda yadda. let’s get this over with endigo montoya.” Sans blinked, and his eyelights disappeared. Man, he looked super creepy when he did that. He summoned a Blaster, and they scattered in different directions. You focused on the Integrity one. They were sure to throw you around, and your long-range attacks were sure to come in handy.

Thomas and Virgil took the Yellow one and the Light Blue one. Sans took the green one. Papyrus took the Orange one. Gaster took the red one. The rest of you spread out to cover as much ground as possible. Then the cavalry arrived in a crash through the concrete wall, increasing your odds by a generous margin. A blue fiery humanoid along with several skeletal figures stepped through.

“Howdy. Nice to see you. Well, not really, but you know how it is.” They spread out. “Wonderful day, isn’t it?”

Then there was the sound of an encounter starting, and the expanse went black.

There were so many SOULS it was hard to keep track of anyone. Your eyes were only focused on your target, but you managed to slowly pick out the outlines of the others, their SOULS shining brilliantly amid the outlines. You all leaped into the fray. You looked at your options, but decided that MERCY was out of the window. So you instead sent some fire in their general direction. They flung you aside. You got up. The cycle continued. They weren’t nearly as strong as Sans, so this was almost easy. But you didn’t want to kill them, so you were at a standstill.

Then someone knocked out Patton. Specifically, the one Roman and Patton were tag-teaming. The one in purple. Patton fell to the ground with a crash. Roman glared at the individual, who almost seemed scared at the expression on his face.

“ ~~You’re going to wish you had never done that~~.”

His voice- it sounded like two people speaking at one. The Player and Roman? Why were they working together…?

You had completely forgotten about your opponent, but that was good because they had completely forgotten about you as well, choosing to stare at Roman, where the air surrounding him was humming with yellow energy. His eyes flared yellow. He was pissed.

The energy coalesced into a dragon-witch. The fire that spewed from its mouth blasted the one in purple with energy. You and everyone else stared as they were blasted back by the force and flung against the wall, falling to the ground in a heap, slowed down by the one you were battling as instinct told them to save their comrade. You liked them. Not enough to stop fighting them of course, but they used MERCY. That won a page in your book.

Roman turned towards the others, eyes glowing yellow.

~~“Scram.”~~

A few of them scrambled, and the blue one straight up grabbed the other’s SOULS and went towards Patience, who teleported away. The only one left was Red. He was angry.

“Who the hell are you?”

~~Your worst nightmare dipstick.~~

Red growled at the voice. “Your scary monster shit will get you nowhere. The world will see you all as you really are. Monsters.”

“and the world will see you as you really are: a cheap knockoff of a hate group with superpowers.”

Red spat at the skeleton and ran out of the encounter faster than they could blink. The world faded back to normal. Roman immediately fell over. Patton woke up. “What happened?” Roman jumped to his feet and looked around.

“Okay…. Okay. So they’re gone now?”

“Yep.”

“It does seem to be so.”

“yup.”

“OKIE DOKIE! I WILL GO HELP WITH COLLATERAL DAMAGE!” He leapt out of the hole, following the figure.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ya go! I'm posting two today just because I can, but I'm glad that you all seem to be enjoying it!


	46. An Unexpected Friendship

Undyne showed up with a tied-up bundle a few moments after Papyrus had bounded out of the hole in the wall.

“This red guy someone you were looking for?”

“undyne i love you right now.”

“I’m gay dumbass.” Undyne hefted the bag up and Sans lifted it over to him using blue magic.

“i take it that this guy’s knocked out? not squirming as much as i expected.”

“Yup! Alphys knocked ‘im out with a taser.”

“dang. didn’t think she had it in her.”

“I know! My girlfriend is AWESOME!”

Then the bag started to move. Dang, this guy was DETERMINED. Heh.

The muffled sound of his voice came through the bag.

“You little shits! Let me the fuck out or else I’ll-“ There was the sound of a tazer, and the bag went silent, spazzing a little. They all looked at Roman, who had faint electrical sparks flying out of his fingers. You didn’t know humans could do that.

“What? He was getting annoying.”

“thanks.” He looked around. “where’s your little friend?”

“What?”

“that other voice. i have a feeling on who it is, but i’d rather be wrong.”

“Oh that! I have no freaking clue.”

~~Hello.~~

They all jumped at the disembodied masculine voice with an accent of some sort, including Roman. Sans’s eyelights darkened, magic sparking faintly in the midst of the darkness.

~~Jeeze. I knew you were a skeleton, but you seemed to jump out of your skin Sans.~~

“what do you want Player.”

~~You know… at first I wanted you to RESET. I wanted to play again. I wanted to interact with you all more; learn your stories and see your views. I thought this was just a game. I still view it as something of the sort. But then I got curious on what you were doing. I only had a …tease on the relationships and lives you led in the Underground. I tried to find Frisk, but they rejected me. Then I found you, Roman. I could only have access to you when you slept though, because you, like Frisk, rejected anyone but yourself when you were conscious. Why the circles, I have …no idea. Fine motor control, I guess. Or maybe I just like circles. My apologies that I threw swords at you though. I was new to this universe, and had no idea who any of you were. I thought you were breaking in or something. I am sorry. I was… not thinking clearly. The only way I was able to emerge now was because we had such similar feelings on… well….. let’s say your close family and friends.~~

“Aww shucks.” Patton to the rescue, optimistic as always.

“It takes a lot of effort to hate someone, and I simply don’t have the time or energy.” Remy; who was leaning on the pipe like a cane.

There was the sound of a sigh of relief. ~~Good. I don’t want to negatively affect anyone. I…regret my past actions. Especially to you, Sans and Chara. I know I affected you most of all.~~

Sans has re-lit his eyelights. “for now, we’re on decent terms. you didn’t outright kill anyone, which i appreciate, but you should keep an eyesocket on your actions.”

~~Understandable.~~

*You’re not on my best friends list either buddy. You’re running by the skin of your teeth. Don’t mess it up.*

~~Also understandable.~~

“see, we know we can’t kill you. so we have to put up with you. might as well make it more enjoyable.”

 ~~Thank you for your generosity.~~ Did I detect sarcasm? Then they realized what they said. ~~Uh… I mean that I appreciate it. It was…very logical.~~

Virgil stormed up to where the voice was coming from, jabbing the gun into the air. “Okay Casper. What are you going to do now? I don’t want to use this, especially because it’s useless, but I’m sure I can think of something.”

There was a few beats of silence. ~~Well I wanted to just experience this with you.~~

“What does that mean?”

~~I… wanted to see what this new life will offer for you all. Like it or not, I am very attached to you all. I want to see what happens because I am… interested in your wellbeing.~~

*Bullshit. What about the genocide route?”

 ~~Oh, the No-Mercy Timeline? Curiosity. Those in my world who~~ \- They broke off.

“wait- there are… more of you?”

~~Yes. We simply see you as…as a game. You have files and everything. You look like pixelated game sprites. The encounters were… a mini-game of sorts. I know of your sentience of course now, but others in my world simply see you as… a means to their end. Other games in our world function quite like the No-Mercy Route, so many…played it that way when thay first started off. I started out with a Neutral Route, but eventually tried this new Route after the Pacifist Route. I was curious, and wished to…to sate my curiosity.~~

*Then how did you manage access into our world again?*

~~I… hacked the game files. It was complicated, but I was truly… truly curious. I am invested in you all. That gives one the… the DETERMINATION to complete such a task.~~

“Jeeze, that’s not creepy at all.” Borealis had come out to peer at the disembodied voice.

~~Now you… who are you? There are no files about you. You look like… like an AU of sorts… like an inverted Grillby sprite but with different clothes. Are you like Gaster?~~

“No? What do you mean there are no files of me?”

~~You do not exist in the game’s code. You must be a … a malfunction or glitch… maybe a virus of some sorts.~~

“Uh nah, I’m just an experiment on our end. Maybe that didn’t replicate itself in the code or something. I’m not that complicated.”

~~And you skeletons… who are you? You remind me of the SOULS but that should be impossible.~~

*We’re skeletons of the SOULS. We were reanimated.*

~~That explains the small sprite changes in your character. I thought those were just a glitch, but this makes more sense. This timeline is …very complicated.~~

“you’re telling us.”

Logan waved his hands, blinking rapidly. “Okay, Okay, Okay. This is nonsensical. How do you exist? What are you? What are we?  All of the rules of the universe just imploded on itself and I need to go re-evaluate my purpose.”

~~You seem to be normal human wizards. I am a human from another dimension that views yours as… through a game. The other rules of the universe: Physics, the law of 42, and the fact that the Emoji Movie sadly exists are also the same.~~

“oh.”

~~Yes. I wish that for your universe the last rule was not so.~~

"Hey it- okay it really was that bad. There were no plot devices or anything. Why were they worried? Why didn’t the kid just do a factory reset? It’s in the Settings option for crying out loud!"

They all looked at Joan. They looked back at you. "What? We have movie nights."

~~I feel like I’m missing out on a central part of this conversation. Anyways, I was just…thinking about the limitations of being formless. It really is a pain being presented as a disembodied voice.~~

“You’re telling me.” Gaster said dryly, swinging his cane. “It’s very boring. At least you can interact with the universe.”

~~Fair enough.~~

“You know, I wonder if Alphy could build a body for you. You can inhabit things, yeah?”

~~It may be a simplistic way to say it but yes. I can inhabit things to an extent. If they are sentient they must be willing. If they are not… I do not know. I have had no opportunity to try.~~

“Well I’ll tell this to Alphy and-“

“cool your jets fishsticks. i’ll tell alphys. she needs to hear all the details from me.”

“O-Okay then!” She stuck her head out of the hole in the wall. “Hey Asgore! The place is all cleared out! We’re coming up in a minute!” She left. The others slowly followed her, Gaster eying Sans as he stayed behind.

“it’s coo’ dad. Just gonna have a chat with ol’ casper.”

~~You’re not going to let that nickname go will you?~~

“nope.” They all eventually filed out. Sans leaned against the wall, looking at where the voice had come from. “so tell me about yourself.”

~~I’m a human. He/him pronouns please. I have a girlfriend and make Youtube videos for fun.~~

“huh. thanks.”

~~So tell me Sans. Did Papyrus ever get to be in the Royal Guard?~~

“actually yes. in sort of an honorary way. he’s on speed dial to all missions, but he doesn’t have to busy himself with the paperwork. it’s a win-win for everyone, including me. oh, and he;s married to mettaton now. they’re pretty happy. thanks for askin’.”

~~No problem. As I said, I’m invested in you all. Including the Great Papyrus. What about Toriel and Asgore?~~

“well… they’re on speaking terms. not quite friends, but not enemies either. acquaintances is the best word for it.”

~~I see. And you?~~

“excuse me?”

~~How are you? You were one of my favourites in the Underground.~~

“oh. uh… i got into law school and passed the bar to become a criminal defense lawyer. still running the hotdog stand on weekends. just holding onto it to be able to say that i’m a lawyer if some people get too rowdy.”

~~Interesting. All I can do is play video games and make videos. I just learned how to manipulate files on the side. Basic hacking, but I only learned how to do that to be able to edit complicated things.~~

“seems useful, being able to test these things on us.”

~~What? No! I wouldn’t do that! I can do some serious stuff, but I wouldn’t do that on you guys! However….~~

“oh god what.”

~~I was just thinking if I could set up a pop-up thing on your guys’ computers. Computer inside a computer, and it’s a basic thing to hack.~~

“if you do that to alphys’s computer with memes you will become my favourite person.”

They both laughed at this.

~~Would you kill me if I did it with self-referencial memes? Undyne and Alphys and stuff? Anime?~~

Sans raised his brows.

“so we’re that widespread in your world?”

~~Yes actually! There are cosplays, fan art, animations, fanfic… a lot more. I did a let’s play of this too, along with some of my friends. I’m not even the only hacker. I’m just the one who tried to do this. I highly doubt it can even be replicated.~~

“you humans ‘re weird.”

~~That is an understatement.~~

They chuckled at this.

~~So what is this world like? I assume it has the fundamental forces of nature, but I probably shouldn’t make assumptions until I am sure about this universe.~~

“welp, it’s….. there are humans, monsters are on the surface, we’re in decent terms for all except the no monster campaign. it’s overall rather good. there are human magicians now, being the campaign and the sanders, but i think the basics are the same to yours. granted, i know next to nothing about your world, but i can make assumptions.”

~~Such as?~~

“you’re humans. you have an education system, so you must be advanced. you know how to hack, so you must have some high-end electronics, you have the same basic fundamentals of the universe, and you like memes. that’s all i really need to know.”

~~True, true, and true. You are rather perceptive.~~

“have to be in my line of work.”

~~Speaking of your line of work, I noticed that something was off with your eyes. What happened?~~

“they both work now, just like pap’s and the g-man.”

~~Interesting. What of your abilities? Have they changed?~~

“well, my stats are the same except for the attack. it’s at two now. still at one defense and hp, but that’s not too bad. more than i ever expected anyways.”

~~Congratulations. I’m glad I don’t have to fight you now. The first time was hard enough.~~

“you and me both.”

They sat there in a comfortable silence.

“wanna go troll al?”

~~Of course!~~

 

\--------

 

Alphys was running diagnostics on her work computer. Then the images on her screen hiccupped, and a dancing hotdog gif popped up. She sighed and closed it. Then a dancing gif of Undyne with the caption “Sexy Fish.” She let out a small scream, fumbling with the mouse before she closed it. Back to the hotdog gif. Then a Doctor Who meme. She knew what was going on. She sighed.

In the corner of her eye she saw the grin of a certain skeleton widen slightly.

“SANS! This is my work computer! I h-have to run diagnostics!”

His face fell, and he slapped his skull. “shoot i’m sorry al. i thought that was your personal computer. you use both for both you know.”

“Th-That’s not the point! Get rid of it!”

“will do.”

He stood there.

“Well? A-Aren’t you going to do something?”

 Her screen glitched slightly again, and all of the pop-ups were gone. She stared at it.

“What just happened?” She heard a voice with an accent she couldn’t place.

~~Hello!~~

She screamed again.

~~Will people ever stop doing that?~~

“i doubt it bud. you’re kinda invisible.” Sans sipped some ketchup.

“Wh-Who a-are y-you?”

~~My apologies Alphys. I am known here as The Player.~~

Her eyes widened. “What?! Sans-”

“he’s cool alph. chill your jets. he doesn’t want to reset anymore.”

“A-And you’re believing him? O-Oh my gosh….”

“does it help that undyne trusts him?”

“Sh-She knows nothing about h-him!”

~~I’m right here.~~

“…and frisk, and borealis, and… well not really chara but that’s not the point-”

“B-But he killed Papyrus Sans! How are you okay with this?”

~~Guys.~~

“he’s changed! even if we can’t see him-“

“That isn’t the point! There’s too many questions!”

~~For the love of jimbalooshy…~~

There were a few background sounds, like a keyboard typing.

“i know, al, i know, but can’t we just give ‘im a shot-“

“No!”

A person appeared. It was a human, like Frisk, but just a dark grey silhouette of a human with bright green hair- no colors except for the eyes, which were just a shiny black- and some red accents along with some green glitches- it looked like a manifestation of a shadow or a computer virus. It moved like it was taking in a breath to yell.

~~Can you guys knock it off?~~

They shut up.

~~Wow. I can’t believe that worked.~~

“how the heck did you do that.”

~~I added a file to the game. I made a sprite ages ago in this format, and simply added the file to the game. How did the game react?~~

“you look like a physical shadow. all glitchy and stuff. very cool.”

“O-Oh. O-Oh my stars...” She slumped down in her office chair.

This was certainly an interesting development.

 

\----------

 

 

“So you’re not going to be hanging around me? I can actually sleep?”

~~Yes. Sorry about that. I don’t want to deprive you of your rest. Get some sleep buddy.~~

“It’s okay now…but….” He looked like he wanted to ask something.

~~Are you okay? You seem…. off.~~

“No, I’m fine. Just thinking. About all of this stuff. You. Me. Magic. The universe in general. Youtube. All sorts of things.”

Youtube? What kind of things do you like to watch?

Roman looked up, surprised at his curiosity. “Uh- art, and skits, and let’s-plays. Usually channels like nighiga, Jacksepticeye, Markiplier… all of that stuff. Why?”

~~Just curious. Don’t worry about it.~~

“Okay. Goodnight I guess. What time is it where you live?”

~~Right now it’s about 5’o clock in the morning. Perks of living in Europe right now.  I guess you live in America?~~

“Five?! That’s about eight hours ahead! How do you talk to us?!”

~~I have a very strange schedule. I’m used to being up at all hours for my job, so don’t worry. I’m getting plenty of sleep.~~

“Okay… if you fall asleep in the middle of a conversation I’m going to sick Patton on you though. You need to stay healthy, even if that means not talking to us for a little while. Don’t forget about your job either. You need to keep managing your life.”

~~I’ll be fine. I’ll just make some adjustments if I want to interact with you guys more than the usual hour or so. It’s not that much of an issue. My job is pretty understanding and has a flexible schedule.~~

“Still…. Have a good day then. Or whatever it is, because time seems to travel faster here. See you again sometime soon I guess.”

~~See you Roman. Say hi to the others for me at some point if I don’t come back for a while. I have a large project in the works, so it might be a few days. One day here seems to be two or three for you guys, and this’ll take a few days. I’ll probably be back in a week or so. Maybe sooner if my schedule allows for it.~~

“See you. Hey Player?”

~~Yes my dude?~~

“Do you have a name you’d be willing to give out? It’s kinda awkward to call you The Player all of the time.”

There was a silence, as if considering the question.

~~Sure, why not. The name’s Sean. Thanks for asking.~~

“Thanks for answering. See you Sean. Have a good day, and good luck on your project.”

~~Thanks. See you Romano.~~

Then The Player had never been there, disappearing in a flash of green pixels.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited to release the next chapter! People will finally be introduced! AAAAAAHHHHH! 
> 
> ... Anyway, Thank you for reading and have a great day! Thank you for your support and feel free to leave comments or kudos. It really does mean a lot. 
> 
>  
> 
> LINKS AND STUFF:
> 
> My other work: (Marvel)   
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354381/chapters/35628753
> 
>  
> 
> My completely uninteresting Tumblr except for some shorts and some art and stuff:   
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42
> 
> (Can you guess who the player is? Can you? C̶̨̧͈̔̒̈́Ḁ̶̱̺̍͗̅N̷̩̘̾̂́ͅ ̸̘̳͋̓̕͜Y̴̭͎̻̑̒͌Ä̵͙̝͇́́͘?̴̛͈̺̇̚ͅ)


	47. What an Ego...

Frisk was browsing Youtube. They were bored. Then they saw a video that looked interesting. A Reading Your Comments by…. Jacksepticeye. That name seemed familiar. Huh. They clicked on the video.

[Welcome to Reading your Comments…. With Jacksepticeye.] The video rolled. This guy was cool. His accent seemed familiar, but you couldn’t place it. You had met a lot of people, so it was inevitable that you would’ve met an Irish person. You settled for a long binging session before you did your homework. This guy was fun. He had personality. He played video games. He did the voices for the characters. Sure, he swore a bit, but he was honest about it.

The rage compilations were fun.

But then you discovered Anti. And the other Egos. They also seemed familiar.

Then you placed it. The Player’s sprite looked like a variation of Anti. Maybe he was a fan. You’d have to ask him the next time you saw each other. Then the Player had always been there.

~~Hey Frisk. It’s nice to see you! How ya been buddy?~~

Yep, he sounded a lot like Jacksepticeye. They must both be irish.

“Not bad. Watching Youtube. Have you ever heard of Jacksepticeye? He’s a channel I found earlier. He’s very funny. I’ve been watching his videos all day.”

~~That name does ring a bell. It seems we have some similarities in Youtube preferences. Hey, do you mind looking up Undertale for me? It’s something I’m wondering about.~~

You shrugged, and complied. Some of Jack’s videos came up. The Player made a sound of confusion.

~~Weird. Watch those if you want to, I won’t stop you, but be careful. Those are… how to say this…. those are your game. That is your story.~~

Wait, what? This is preposterous. You could watch The Player play through your journey?

~~Not quite. There are other versions of the game. Other branches of the timeline. I’m just the Player of this branch.~~

This was confusing. But you shrugged and put away the laptop. You had some homework to do.

 ~~Well, I have some projects to work on. I’ll see you all in a few days your time~~.

You waved, and they vanished in a burst of green glitches.

Dang it. You forgot to ask about Anti. But you supposed it didn’t matter all that much.

Then Toriel called you downstairs. There was shopping to do!

 

 

\--------

 

How did they find out? Sure, you hadn’t really hid it, but the fact that they found your Undertale playthrough was strange. It was like watching a soap opera of your life times ten.

You hoped they didn’t find out you were the one pulling the strings.

You wanted to keep that life how it was.

Then you heard the door of your apartment open. You looked up from your computer setup to see the familiar figure standing in your doorway.

“I̟͋'̺͝m̻̃ ̌ͅb̰̍ȁ͉c̯͊k̙͌!̈́͜"͍͗

For fuck’s sake… you just wanted to have some alone time. Then the second figure appeared, his german accent slicing through the air.

“And ve have cookies!”

Okay, maybe this was a welcome interruption.

 

 

\-------

 

 

 

They were at the park when The Player appeared.

“hey man.”

~~Hallo. Are you ze characters in ze video game? Zis is not like ze surgeon simulator zat I am used to. Ooh! Ze characters look so cute!~~

You both looked at each other, perplexed at the german accent on the usually irish figure. Then you heard a bunch of noise that came from nowhere.

 ~~Hey file file file…- What are you doing?! Get away from my computer! Henrik you little chair stealer…~~ There was the sound of a tussle and an annoyed german accented groan of disapproval before a door slammed shut.

~~Sorry about that guys. I left for a glass of water while the file loaded and my roommate got to it. He’s out now.~~

“uh… okay? i’m gonna need some more details.”

“YES. THIS IS A RATHER COMPLICATED CONUNDRUM DEAR PLAYER.”

The brothers were doing a puzzle in the park while the others were shopping for their birthdays. They were only five years and a day apart, so their families made a trip out of it.

~~I have two roomates. They’re close friends of mine, but we get into some spats. One is a german doctor who came to Brighton to practice his craft. We were pen pals for years. Then the other is my brother Anti, who looks like me but more like this sprite with paleass skin. He’s a bladesmith and a programmer who likes to play the drums.~~

“weird set of talents.”

~~And yet he pays the bills, so it’s not like I care. They usually placate me with cookies if they interrupt my filming, but they sometimes help if they want something. It’s complicated, but they’re fun as long as they DON’T MESS WITH MY FILES!~~

You heard a muffled shout.

~~I apologized you chairstealing bafoon! Now do not come out! I am baking cookies!~~

“nice. cookies ‘re great.”

~~I know. He makes the best shortbread ones.~~

“METTATON LOVES THOSE!”

You heard a doorbell.

~~Hold on… that’s my neighbor Chase. This should only take a second. I’ll be back soon.~~

Then the Player never was.

They continued their puzzle, playing music through their phones. They chose some piano. It was beautiful and helped them to concentrate. A few minutes passed.

Then the Player was always there.

~~Sorry about that guys! My neighbor, his name’s Chase; he went through a rocky divorce with his wife and he gets the kids on the weekends. They’re both super sweet, if a little loud. So he comes over to warn me because of the kind of job I have. Sometimes noise can ruin a take if it can’t be edited out, so I usually have to do something with a lot of taking or something so any background noise is masked. My sound dampeners only do so much in an apartment with kids next door.~~

“oh? what do you do?”

~~I do Youtube! It’s a gaming channel along with some vlogs and skits and stuff. Sorry if that’s a bit vague, but I’d rather keep the job life separate from the personal life for now if you know what I mean.~~

“makes total sense.”

“WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH US ON A PUZZLE? THE OTHERS ARE OUT GETTING BIRTHDAY GIFTS SO WE DECIDED TO GO OUT TO THE PARK.”

~~Hmmm… I might go see what the others are doing, but if I have time I may come back. Happy birthday! I wish I could get a gift… Whose is it? I’m assuming it’s one of yours.~~

“mine then paps. they’re a day apart, so they usually go out for the day to get stuff. Same thing with mtt and napstablook.”

~~That’s strange. I like it! It adds to the family dynamic! Well, have fun if I don’t see you later. Happy birthday!~~

“thanks pal.”

“THANK YOU DEAR PLAYER!”

Then the Player disappeared.

“hey, do you see that piece?” There was one left undone.

“NOPE!”

They both groaned.

Really? Was it too much to ask for a puzzle without a missing piece?

Probably.

 

\------

 

The Player appeared next to Virgil, scaring the wits out of him from his spot on the couch.

“Jeeze dude! Don’t do that! You scared the crap out of me!”

~~Oh! I’m sorry Virgil! I didn’t mean to do that! How’ve you been?~~

“Having a meh day. Other than that, not too bad. You?”

~~My roomates are getting annoying, but when are they not, you know?~~

“Fair enough. You have roomates?”

~~Yeah, two. My brother and a pen-pal from Germany. A doctor and a bladesmith. We’re a strange bunch.~~

“Not as strange as us. My cousin Remy blew up the microwave again.”

~~Really? How does one… wait, again?~~

“You don’t want to know how. He’s lucky he has a part-time job or he’d never have the money. He works at a coffee shop on 4th Street. This place called Muffet’s. Unfortunately, it’s run by a spider monster and Patton’s terrified of spiders. Muffet doesn’t seem to faze him, but he screams at the sight of the poor workers. He can’t go there, so we usually get him carry-out stuff. It’s super good, even if the advertisements are strange.”

~~Oh? Glad to see Muffet got a bakery on the surface. What about Grillby? He was a cool dude. Well, not really, but you get the point.~~

“He’s got a bar on the surface, and he’s doing pretty well. His food is pretty well liked.”

~~That’s good. Does Sans keep pranking people with ketchup? That was hilarious.~~

“Yep. He got me a few times when I went there after my appointments. He made me distrust ketchup! Who does that?!”

They both laughed.

~~You feeling better?~~

Virgil looked up. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

~~I’m good at reading people. Just am. Honestly, with my friends you kind of have to be, but that’s not the issue. Just keep your head up buddy.~~

“Uh, thanks I guess.”

The Player gave him a thumbs up.

~~See you around Virge.~~

Then The Player never was.

 

\-----

 

Jack put up his headphones. A head popped into view with a plate of cookies. He flashed the man behind the plate a grin and scarfed it down.

“Now go drink some of ze water chair-stealer.”

“It was ONE TIME!”

He stormed out of the room, his roommate laughing his head off.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are the Egos! (Don't worry, there will be more...) *Maniacal laughter*
> 
> But yeah! I hope you enjoyed it, it was really fun to write. I hope you all have a great day, I should post again Wednesday as usual! Thank you for reading!
> 
> (I updated my Loki fic too. Shameless plug.~)  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354381/chapters/35628753


	48. Ships Ahoy!

Alex and Emi were watching movies. Trying to ignore the snickers of the others, but watching movies.

Better yet, it was Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Their favourite comedy.

They laughed as they tried to outrun the killer bunny.

Joan snickered. Emi threw popcorn at them while Alex flipped them off. They joined you, the two of you fighting off a groan.

“Jeeze. If I’d guessed I wasn’t wanted I’d go play chess with Melo.” They flashed the two of you a smirk.

“Wha-? No! It’s not that at all! You’ve just been… kinda distracting, giggling and such for the entire movie.”

“It seems you were distracted by something else.” They wiggled their eyebrows suggestively. It seemed they were getting tips from Frisk.

“You shut your mouth. This is a good part.” Alex turned away from Joan, an odd expression on their face. You sensed tension. What to do?

“Uh- why don’t we pause the movie and go do something fun? I-I was thinking w-we could go visit Muffet’s or something! Maybe see Remy!”

They both thought about this. Alex reached for the remote, pausing the movie.

Joan smiled, bordering on mischievous. “Sounds fun! I’ll go ask for a ride-“

They moonwalked out of the room.

Now what were they planning?

 

\-------

 

They stopped at Muffet’s. Sure enough, Remy was working the counter with Muffet.

“Hello dearies!~”

“Hey guys! What can I get you?”

“Maybe one of your spider specials…. the number two.”

“Okay! Hey Muffet, can I-“

“Oh Dearie!~” She laughed.” “You know you won’t be upgraded to Mixologist until I can trust you not to eat the merchandise! You know you’d eat anything containing coffee.~” She giggled again. “But your enthusiasm is what I like in a fellow worker. I guess you can try it just this once. You did want to show off for your friends!~”

“Thank’s Muffet!” He sped over to that side of the counter, making the drinks.

“Okay… two Number Two’s- Hot Spider Cider with Cinnamon, Whipped cream and marshmallows, a cherry, and some chocolate shavings!”

“Wait- aren’t there three of us?”

“Sorry Dearie, but I only see the two of you!~” The two of you sucked in your breaths in annoyance.

“JOAN!” You groaned.

Remy started laughing his head off as he rung up the drinks. “I take it that this is a night out?”

“It was supposed to be a treat with friends, but Joan, our Joan not your Joan, ditched us to try to set us up on a date. They’ve been trying to set this kind of thing up for weeks.”

“Joan #2 strikes again! I guess to spite them you’ll just have to have a good time, eh?”

They sent each other skeletal smirks. “I guess we will. Thanks Rem.”

“No problem. Have a great evening!” He handed them their change. Then they felt a disturbance in the air behind them.

“Oh, hey Player! Hey guys, have you met-“

~~I don’t believe so formally. It’s nice to meet you both. Hey Remy.~~

“U-uh, hello there Mx..”

~~I usually just go by The Player. Male pronouns please too, if it will make you more comfortable.~~

“Uh- okay? Nice to meet you I guess. Hey Alex-“

“You remind me of someone… but I can’t place it. Must be the accent. Irish, right?”

~~Yes, that’s true. Loud and proud, as I always say. Sorry if you hear any background noise coming from my end. My roomates are loud.~~

“From your end? Wait- you’re That Player! Alex- remember-“

“Yep. The riot. Nice to actually be able to see you I suppose.”

~~Nice to be talking to you two! Now I just came here to see Remy after talking to Virgil and hearing about this place, but you two have a nice night. Hello Muffet! It’s nice to see that you have a place up here. Did you end up reuniting the spider clans? I know you wanted to do that.~~

“Fuhuhuhu! Yes dearie! They’re all settled down around here. A lot of them actually work in my shop! Say hello lovelies!~”

There was a chorus of tiny ‘hello!’s from various parts of the shop. Those who couldn’t speak just waved silently.

~~Aww, that’s so cute! Aw, this really warms my heart. Well, I have some stuff to do, so I’ll talk to you later. Tell the others hello from me Remy.~~

“No problem! See you in a few days man. We should get some coffee or something.”

~~I might take you up on that. Liquid gold and all. See you!~~

Then the Player never was.

They walked over to a small table and started to drink their drinks. Remy teleported over a donut. “On the house.”

You severely doubted that by the looks Muffet was giving her employee, but you put some money in the tip jar nonchalantly just in case.

The two of you sat there awkwardly. “Do you want to take a selfie to text to Joan to taunt them about this later?”

“Sure!” They posed with their drinks. Emi noticed Alex had a whipped cream mustache.

“Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“You have a sugar-stache.”

They felt for it, finding the topping on their finger. They shrugged and licked their lips. It disappeared.

“Ready?”

They posed, smiling. The camera flashed, and they looked at their portraits.

“It’s okay.”

“Wanna take another one?”

“Sure!” They spent the rest of the evening laughing and taking selfies, opening the blossom of friendship and romance between them.

Remy looked on and smiled as he tidied up.

“See you Muffet.”

Muffet slid over the customary bag of coins and money, along with the small bag of spider-cider grounds.

“Goodbye Dearie! Test out this last batch, will you?~”

“First thing tomorrow. Thanks! Pet Croissant for me.” Then he left, the bell chiming in his wake as the lovers debated which Marvel movie was the best.

As he looked up at the stars all he felt was peace.

This was home.

And if anyone wanted to take that way from anyone he cared about, they were in for a bad time.

But that didn’t really matter right now.

 This was home. 

Shoot, he even took the time to get up for his job on time.

He really had changed.

 

\-----

 

Frisk, Chara, and Papyrus were playing Yahtzee.

Papyrus rolled. A five, a two, a six, and two ones.

“NYEH! HOW DO I KEEP GETTING SUCH BAD ROLLS?!”

*Maybe you should stick to Jenga Papyrus.* They rolled as Papyrus marked down what he could. *Yahtzee!*

“AGAIN?!”

Frisk flopped down, wallowing in their self-pity. How were they so good at this?

They needed some sleep.

 

\--------

 

 

Undyne and Alphys were watching Doctor Who reruns. They would’ve watched Anime, but they had already caught up on all of the episodes that had come out that week.

So they were watching Nightmare in Silver, Undyne’s favourite episode. It was good, but Alphys preferred the 10th Doctor. He was so cute! In a character way. Although she liked him, she loved Undyne way more. And Undyne liked this episode, so she would watch it too.

It was a good episode anyways, so she didn’t mind. She liked Mr. Clever. And the short guy reminded her of Sans. She didn’t know why, but he did.

SO they continued to watch when she got a text from Joan. Apparently Remy had a friend had Joan as well, but she hadn’t met them yet.

 

**GreenSOUL: Hey Alphys. There’s a new Ship on the horizon.**

**Sci-nosaur: ????**

**GreenSOUL: Alex and Emi. We need to get them together. I managed to get them to go on a date, but I need your help.**

**Sci-nosaur: Ok! I’ll ask Dyne**

 

“Hey Dyne?”

“Yeah Alph?” She smiled her sharklike grin that always managed to make her SOUL flutter.

“U-Uh, do you want to do a matchmaking session with me? J-Joan, the green one, texted me for help getting Alex and Emi together. D-do you want to h-help g-get them…” She trailed off at the eager look on her girlfriend’s face.

“Heck YEAH! Let’s do this! Ask Joan to text me the deets! I HAVE to do this! Is Frisk in on it?”

“S-so I’ve heard.”

“Sweet!” She looked at her watch. “Sorry babe, I have to go to my training with Virgil. We’re getting pretty far. He’s doing pretty well now, and I want to make sure he keeps a consistent training regimen.”

“O-Okay! Have fun h-hon.”

They hugged, and undyne ran out of the door after grabbing some toast. Alphys sat there for a while. Then she decided to do some work. Specifically for Flowey. Maybe she could get him a body at some point.

Probably not though.

But maybe.

 

\------

 

Flowey was bored. Really bored.

So bored he was actually thinking of doing some homework. Toriel was teaching him some stuff with Frisk, and he had some stuff to do. He sighed as he grabbed his math textbook and notebook.

He had work to do.

He almost missed the days where he could watch youtube for the whole day.

But then again, he kinda didn’t at the same time.

Strange. This was rather out of character for him.

But he also found that he didn’t mind. He stared out the window.

The stars were bright tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this got posted a day late- I had some technical difficulties yesterday. I was tempted to post another chapter but it was going to start the next arc so I decided not to. However..... it will be rather interesting. So... 
> 
>  
> 
> L̛̟̻̺̩̪̘̼̰̞̣͒͆̔̈́̍͑͊̏̈́é̬͍̝̘̟̲̣̥̂͛͂͐̓͌̚̕͜͜͝t̛͕̲̜̝̰͕̘̠̼̱̆̉̾̈́̾̓́'̡̡̼̼̱̘̦̳͚̼͊̓͂͛͆̍̎̑̚̕s̢̛̟͙̘̟̦͍͍̱̀̂̾͗͐́͜͠ ̡̢̛̝̖̳̰̼̹̺͐̈́͊̾̀̃̿̄̀ͅd̢̦̘͖̹̜͖̺̻̯͑̋̄̈́̅̆̒̈́̆̆o̢̢̡̞͓͚̘̪̲̮̔̌̑̓̇̕̚̚ ̛͓̪̙͉̳̰͍̙͕̟̐̍̒̄́̚̕̕͝s̡̛͍͇̥̩̦̥̰̝͋͋̓͆̍̅͊͛̏͜ǫ̣̲͍̞̦͓̩͈̥̉̓̊̐͆̂́͘͝m̢̧̟̼͚͉̹͔̜̪͐̄̋͂̂͐̾͐͐̚e̢̛͚͙͓̙͇̹͕̻̝̿͒̉̑̔̋̅̽̌ ̡̧̛̖̗̰̭̝̙̠͎̓͂̈́̀̏̓̐͘l̡̹̳̰̩͕̖͈̘̿͋̎̂̅̋͒͒̌͘ͅị̟̱̙̹̠̹̭̫͖̉̇̈́́͋̂̄̚͘ḙ̡̹͍̞̳̪̤͖͖͗̈͒̈́̽͂͂̋̃-̢̛͕͇͖̘̣̭̬͔͌̽̎̔͗̾̓̂̚ͅŝ̢̲͍͓͉̲̻͈̙̦́̏̈̉̊̈́͘̚̕ṗ̹͚̖͔͈̙̖͖̥̮͆̿̉͂̃̈́͊̍ǒ̡̘͙̭̰̥̼̠͛̆̿͗͑̈̈́̓͌͜͜t͎̫̮͙̩͕͍̼̥̲̉͒̇̓͂̈́̆̚̚͠t̢͚͓̝̟͎͚̯͔͕͌͒̈́̄̓̃̓́̚͠i͕̦̘̟̖͕̬̫͍̪̎͐̽̇̈́̏̐͘ǹ̨̩̝̰͎̳̬̳͇̑͑̎͊͐̅͋͗͝ͅģ̠̠̫̟̤͈͍͚̙͐̈̃̓̑̏̓̚͠,̢̢̖̰̼̱̻̯̖̞̏̈́͆̍͒̽̔͐̚̕ ͈̞̭̭̜͉͔͙̝̐̆͑̿̅̅͑̒̔͑͜s̭͇̯̬̯̱̬̘̹̙̎͒̔̑̂̽͋̕͝h͕̤͚͇̯͉̖̘̠͖͐͒̂̓̈́̇͆͘̚͝a̧̨͔̝͕̝͚̼̫̽̾̇̀̓͛̔̓͜͝ĺ̲̫̭̻͍͓͚͇͓͉̈̇͑̂͊̆̚͘l̡̞͔̫͙͍̥̘̪͆̋̑̅̈́̒̏̏̄͝ͅ ͔̗̖͓̟̩̲̙̦̝̃͐͋̊̔̒̍͘̕͠w̡̛͙͔̞͈͎͚͔̺̌͆̑̊̒̔̄̀͑͜ȇ̡̡̺̼̱̼͉̻̰̆̐̈́͆̌̄̐̊͜͝?̧̳͇̞̮̦̣̝͎̐̀͌̎̍̍̌͒̄͜͝
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading! I hope you have a great day, and feel free to comment or kudos! I'd love constructive criticism, so feel free to talk to me! I'm trying to make this feel like a safe and welcoming space.


	49. Coffee

Remy sipped his coffee. Not bad, but it needed something…. maybe more of a kick.

“Hey Virgil, hon?” He called to the half-asleep figure at the other side of the dining room table.

“What.” His cousin said groggily, lifting his head.

“Do you mind trying out this coffee for me? I have to rate it for Muffet but you know me and my excessive amounts of caffeine. I need someone else to see if it has the right kick.”

“Yeah, yeah, bring it over.” He slid over the mug with magic. Virgil took a sip, not even noticing the magic that he’d been practicing in his off time. Like it was normal. He guessed it kinda was now. Science got flipped on its head and everyone adjusted in a year. Weird how quickly the human body and mind adapted.

He shook his head out of the Logan-like thoughts. “Well? How is it hon?” Virgil took another sip. Then another. Then he downed the whole mug of hot coffee. Remy inwardly winced, but Virgil didn’t seem to notice the heat.

“It’s not bad. Is she selling that in grounds now?”

“She’s trying to. I’ve been her test subject. They’ve gotten a lot better. You want some more gurl?” This was a whole pot day, but he was willing to share and get some more later before his class. Virgil thought about it.

“Yeah, sure. I’ve been feeling tired lately; maybe this will help.” Remy poured another mug for himself, then one for Virgil in his customary ‘This is boo-sheet’ mug. He slid it over. Virgil went for a sip absentmindedly, then slammed it down after his mouth was subjected to how blisteringly hot it was.

“Jeeze, Virge, honey. You know of a thing called ‘heat’ right?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up.” He blew on the mug, face redder than usual, as Remy tried and failed not to laugh. Soon they were both laughing; well, at least chuckling a little on Virgil’s end.

“So you have fun working there?” Remy looked up, slightly surprised. Virgil hadn’t taken an interest in his job before, no matter how close they were. Shoot, they were even staying in their guest bedroom because their parents were out of town for work for a few weeks. They had been together so much that many of the people here thought they were brothers instead of cousins.

“Yeah gurl! It’s fun. I get to interact with people, set up a few dates…”

You set up a date?”

“Yeah, last night. The other Joan tricked Alex and Emi to get them set up on a date, so I told them to have a good time to spite them. One of my best ideas yet, other than self-eating pineapples.”

“Wow.”

“I know gurl! It’s a first for me too.”

They sat there in silence. Logan stumbled down the stairs and lunged for the coffee. Remy sighed and poured Logan a mug. He put on another pot. He’d probably need more anyway, and the bag was a decent size, Muffet knowing how much he loved coffee.

Man, he’d need to start buying bags of this. This was super good, and the caffeine kicked in faster because of the magic. Muffet would be pleased. He poured himself another cup, and then Roman came downstairs. He looked like a zombie. Jeeze, why was everyone so tired? Hmm. Homework must be getting to them. He poured Roman a bit in one of his Disney mugs. He nodded his thanks, perking up immensely after ingesting some coffee. Then Patton came downstairs, looking worse than Roman. Remy and Virgil looked at each other, weighing their options. Remy sighed and slid him a small mug. Patton pounced on it. Thomas got some too when he woke up, and then Dee got some teabags. Everyone stared at him.

“What? I’m not a coffee person.”

“Try it.” Virgil slid him his mug. Dee did.

“Okay, that’s not the worst I’ve ever had. Hey Rem, can you pour me a cup?” Man, he must be tired. He wasn’t even spinning his words. Weird. Something seemed off. Then he remembered something else that was bothering him.

“It’s Saturday, why are all of you even awake? You need your beauty sleep chill pack.”

“I’m a morning person.” Logan.

“I smelled coffee.” Patton.

“I couldn’t sleep.” Virgil.

“I have homework.” Thomas.

“I was drawing.” Roman.

“You all did not wake me up.” Dee. He sipped it noisily in the sudden silence that followed his words.

“You are a stone cold-“ The textone on his phone went off, masking his words. “Ah, that’s Muffet. One of the spiders is sick, so I have to go in early today. I’m assuming you want me to bring home more? Muffet’s going to be ecstatic, the moneybag that she is.”

“Yes please.”

“You know you will anyway, seeing that you live on the stuff.”

“True. I guess I’ll see you guys later.” He filled a to-go cup with the coffee and walked out the door. Time to walk to work.

He needed to save up for a car. But his legs looked good, so he wasn’t complaining.

Then a skeleton ran into him. The empty coffee cup fell to the ground, the paper clattering off of the concrete.

“Hey Doc-“ And he was gone. He sighed, picking it up. He probably needed some parts or something. He should get to work. Muffet’s opened at seven after all.

 

\-----

 

“Hey boss, got your text. The coffee was a win for the whole house, I’m going to need to get some more hon.”

“Goodness gracious dearie! You always get here so quickly!~”

“Work waits for no ‘man. Or ‘mon, really- you know that gurl.” He put on the pale purple apron. “So what’cha need done hon?”

“Some biscuits are in the oven if you wouldn’t mind decorating them.~”

“On it gurl.” He walked into the kitchen, sidestepping a few spiders. “Hey Marmalade. Hey Jelly. Oh, you’re both looking glam, as always.” They nodded a hello as they put some trays in the display case. He slid on the human-sized gloves and opened the industrial oven. He took out the tray of biscuits and put them on the cooling rack, moving over to the fridge where they kept the icing.  They didn’t need to keep it in the fridge, but then it could be scooped up for their icing balls- one of his favourite desserts on the menu. He put it in an icing bag and let it soften while the biscuits cooled. He grabbed some sprinkles. Then he waited, resisting the urge to scroll on Tumblr. If he did, he wouldn’t go up for air until his shift ended.

So he waited, watching the spiders set up for the day. Then he accidentally burned his finger on the biscuits. Damn it. He waved it around, waiting for the air to ease the stinging. Then he had a thought as he realized how much he looked like he was dancing.

“Hey gurl?”

“Yes Dearie?~”

“Could we add some background music to your shop? It’s a bit quiet, and some music might make the atmosphere just that much brighter. Shine bright like a diamond.”

“Oohhh Dearie! You have the best ideas! Do you know anyone?~“

“My bro Dee isn’t bad at that type of stuff. I’ll text him.” So he did.

 

**Sleepaholic: Hey hon? Do you mind mixing up a little something for Muffet’s? We need some background music. Just something small and cheery.**

**Slimy BOI: What’ll I get in return?**

**Sleepaholic: My undying gratitude?**

**Slimy BOI: Meh. I was thinking something… physical.**

**Sleepaholic: I’ll give you a hug. And coffee.**

**Slimy BOI: Don’t do that and it’s a deal. I’ll take you up on the coffee tho.**

**Sleepaholic: Deal! Thanks!**

 

He told Muffet the news. And he asked for some bags of coffee. This was going to cut into his paycheck for sure…. good thing he was paid in gold. Muffet was generous to those who saved her work, and he wasn’t going to let that go to waste.

 

\--------

 

The Player appeared. He looked around, wondering where he was. Then he saw the sign. Perfect. He stepped into the shop.

“HOI! WelCoME To THE TEm SHoP!” He winced at the volume slightly, but continued onwards.

~~Hi! I was told that you sold a special set of armour…~~

“YeS! WE Do SeLL THaT! WiTH a REDuCED PrICE!” He was shown the set. He pounced on it. This was way cheaper than the Underground.

 ~~Awesome! Thanks Tem! Do you by any chance sell ketchup?~~ The tem placed some on the counter with a frown.

“ThAT WiLL BE 10G. ThANK yOU FoR BUYinG. TeLL SAnS TO pAY His TaB fOr ThE DoG ReSIdUe PLs!” They put up the closed sign. He took the hint and left with his purchases. They were going to love this… now he had to buy a trombone… nah, he’d just hack one in. That would cost a lot. Then he saw a sign. FREE TROMBONE.

Was the universe full of good fortune today?

Nah, probably just luck. Then he saw the tortoise who had placed it out. Okay, that made some sense.

He went up and grabbed the case, balancing the stuff in his arms. How did Frisk carry all of that stuff in the Underground?

~~Hey Gerson. Do you by any chance have any sea tea? I’ve heard it was good.~~

The tortoise laughed, handing over some in a mug. “I figured I’d see you eventually Jack! Or is it Sean?”

He froze ~~. How did you know that?~~. He cleared his throat. ~~Sorry. But seriously, how?~~ He sipped the tea. It was good.

“Whahaha! I have a brain! Nobody else has connected the dots, but I have my informants. Mostly a little yellow flower, but that’s neither here nor there.”

~~Well, I’d appreciate it if you called me The Player. I’d rather keep those two world separate, thank you very much. Sorry if that was rude.~~

“Sure thing Player! Enjoy your tea and your trombone! Have a nice day now!”

He teleported towards the bother’s respective houses. Time to give gifts. He went to Sans’s first.

 

\------

 

They were enjoying the festivities when The Player arrived. He dumped some large packages on the table covered with presents. They decided to celebrate them together this year, just for fun, and he was taking full advantage of it.

They tore into the gifts.

“WOWIE!” Papyrus put on the derpy dog armour. He started to pet it. The shoulder pieces barked. “THANK YOU PLAYER!”

Sans was playing the trombone and putting the ketchup into his pockets. “thanks. i needed a new one anyway.”

 ~~You’re welcome. Happy birthday.~~ There was the sound of a keyboard typing. ~~And from my brother…. look outside.~~

A red convertible was sitting on the pavement. Next to it was a massive bottle of ketchup. Like Sans-levels of massive.

~~I asked my brother what people like you would want, and he suggested these. He made the sprites and everything.~~

“wow.” Sans blinked a few times, breaking out into a sheepish smile. “wow. i think you’re my favourite person other than pap right now.”

“WOWIE! THIS BEAUTY BELONGS TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS?! I SHALL RIDE IT AND THINK OF YOU!” Then he saw the windshield protector: a massive pair of sunglasses. Wow. Anti had gone into detail in making the perfect gift- wait, he hadn’t told him to do that. He’d have to ask him about that later. That was a bit too perfect.

Well, that was something to ponder later. These idiots seemed to be having fun.

And they deserved it.

 

\--------

 

Dee was working on the music. He was inspired by Muffet’s ringtone- her phone was always ringing, almost every time he was in the same room as her. Either way, it fit the aesthetic of the shop. He even named it Spider Dance as he added the last few notes and played it. Perfect. He texted it to Remy, then went to his room to practice in his mirror. He needed to keep fooling everyone.

He looked into it, feeling like an idiot in the back of his mind. But logic overruled.

 

What was a little white lie?

It wouldn’t harm anyone. Hurt anyone. Offend anyone.

That’s all lying was, right?

A tool.

It was a tool.

 

He straightened his spine. His voice perfectly mimicked Patton’s, enveloping himself in the character. His image in the mirror changed- but he didn’t notice. He was too lost in his head.

“But I’m Morality! I’ve gotta know my stuff!”

Nope. Too much like Patton’s. He tried Virgil’s.

“Or we can hide under the covers until the sun goes away.” He hissed. Nope. Not right either. He tried Roman.

“Time out for thee, time out for thee, focus on issues or focus on me.~” Nope. He sighed. His usual tricks didn’t work. His techniques weren’t as effective. Then he noticed his reflection. He looked like… Roman? He tried Thomas. He shifted, an illusion masking his features.

“Guys, gals, and nonbinary pals!” he said, adopting the voice of his cousin.

He tried Logan.

“Crofters.” Enough said. Another illusion. He felt rather drained. Like he’d worked out a muscle he’s never used before.

Well this was an interesting development.

He smiled. This was going to be easier than he thought.

But he still had to make some adjustments….

Maybe this imbalance would be good for something after all.

 

\----------

 

Thomas came home from grocery shopping. Dee was lying on the couch, reading a magazine. He started to put the groceries away. Dee stood up to help, which was unlike him. He mentally shrugged and accepted the help. The two of them finished putting away the groceries. Dee was unusually quiet. He must be thinking about something.

“Thanks Dee.”

“You’re welcome.”

He went back to the couch. He didn’t even notice the ‘sincerity’. Good.

This was all going to plan. He went to his room to write.

He had some stuff to do.

And by stuff he meant plans.

He was going to live into his name.

 

\--------

 

“Virgil” slipped out of his room late at night. Everyone else had gone to bed. He snuck out of the house, closing the door carefully behind him as to not alarm anyone. He walked down the street, trying to act like his cousin as much as possible. No one blinked. He put the headphones he had stolen from the teen’s room over his head, psychologically keeping conversation away from himself.

This was good. He adjusted the backpack that was over his shoulders.

There was work to be done.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ya go.~
> 
> Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it, and the amount of people who have read and liked this continues to astound me. Anyway, I hope you have a great day, and feel free to comment on any constructive criticism you have or if you just want to say hi! I also have a tumblr if you want to be anonymous with your support or just talk about this on there: 
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42
> 
> Thank you again, and I'll see you again Wednesday if nothing goes wrong with my computer again like last time!


	50. Imitation Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE!!! Random upload!

Alphys was grocery shopping. She picked up Undyne’s favourite drink. Mango juice. How she liked the stuff in a green smoothie she never would guess. She preferred Root Beer to be honest. She put both into the cart and scanned over the list. It seemed that she had gotten everything. She went to the checkout. Once she got through the lines, a human was working the retail checkout. That was new. Mostly monsters worked here. Bunyee was even selling her buns here, not to mention the Nice Cream guy was selling here as well.

His name tag said “JIM.” She smiled and payed.

Things sure were changing around here, huh?

 

\-------

 

He approached the Lab. He passed a dark shadow, taking the opportunity to shift into Logan and putting the headphones into the bag before slipping it back onto his shoulders. Unfortunately he didn’t have his family’s abilities when he assumed their forms, or he would have been Patton and have avoided all of the unneeded nonsense with a teleport. So walking would have to do. 

He was so focused on his thoughts and plans that he didn’t notice the swooping birdlike shadow behind him, watching his every move.

-

Dee- no, Deceit- that was his true purpose- was walking into the Lab. Sans approached him. He was taken aback for a second, then regained his composure. He was Logan.

“Yes? Is there something I can be of assistance for?”

Sans nodded. “the doc wants to try out a few new logarithms. you came just in time. he’s been running around all morning trying to find you.”

Shit. How would Logan react? Probably jump right in. But he knew nothing about all of this! He thought frantically.

He felt a weight from behind as someone tackled him. Wha-?

His head hit the ground. Hard. He blinked tears of pain out of his eyes as he tried to look at his assailant, who was pinning him down in an impressively helpless position.

He felt his disguise wear away. Shit. Snickerdoodles on a surfboard. He lay down on the ground, groaning in pain.

“Well isn’t this perfect.”

Virgil silently squeezed down harder, causing him to wince.

“woah, woah, woah!” Sans flicked his hand, and a cage of blue bones came up from the ground. “you can let go virgil. he should be contained, even if i have no clue what’s happening.” He jumped up, and before he could react leapt out of the cage, landing on the ground with his wings. Dee hissed, trying and failing to get off of the ground.

“Live and don’t suffer.” Die you little-

“I’d rather not. Death isn’t in my recommended calories.”

“You little-“

“language. hey doc. look who we have here.” He heard the clicking of polished shoes. He groaned again. More people had to see him at his most vulnerable. He grew angry. But he remained cool and calculated as he tried to get up. Again. And failed. Again. Where had Virgil freaking learned how to do that?

“Well this all went according to plan. How horrible to see you.” He tried to go for a chuckle but instead wheezed. The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

“You don’t look very good Mr. Sanders.”

“Oh, yeah, keep talking.” Shut up you little-

“Yes, I will.”

He knew that was sarcasm dammit. He barked out a laugh.

“What, going to keep me contained with your silly tricks? There are so hard to break. I simply don’t have the energy to do such task.~” He was bluffing, but they didn’t have to know that.

“shush.” Sans jabbed him with a bone. Jeeze, overkill? It wasn’t as if he was going to do anything. Much. He just had a few plans to make.

And by plans to make he meant things to steal. Duh. He scoffed, running out of patience.

“Oh come on. You could totally kill me. Right. You don’t like the role, I play the bad guy. What’s wrong with a little switcheroo in the grand scheme of things?~” He smiled twistedly, transforming into Patton again and getting to his knees. Their eyes widened.

“What, don’t like little ol’ me? I’m Patton, why would I do anything wrong? Just keep lying to yourself. Everyone will be the better for it. You are good people.~” He let his smile widen, and he flickered back to his true form. His left eye flashed yellow. He put his chin in his hand. “What’s a little, teeny, tiny lie in the grand scheme of things? Insignificant. Nobody gets hurt, nobody will know. Why don’t you just let things go?~” He shrugged nonchalantly from his carefree sitting position on the floor of the cage.

He looked at all of them, seeing mixed emotions.

Virgil looked mistrustful. Sans looked calculating. Gaster looked thoughtful. None of them looked scared. This wasn’t working. Yet. He shrugged again as he sighed dramatically, channeling Roman and Remy. He lowered his freshly conjured sunglasses in distain.

“Or you could sit there, helpless, as the world continues to spin around you, helpless to stop it with nothing to do but be in the way of whoever’s next up in the destruction of those in inferior positions. You’re in an inferior position. Simple as that. And you need to be on top, not on the chopping block.” He flung the sunglasses away without a care in the world as he crossed his legs and raised a gloved hand to his chin. He had multiple backup plans for a reason. He smiled brilliantly, pumping as much charisma into it as humanly possible.

“I have a way for you to do that. Sure, it may not be the best, but it will work. Trust me.~” He put his fingertips together as his eye glowed. “Trust me.~” He saw Virgil shake his head slightly, as if to snap himself out of it. Progress.

Then he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head as a bone knocked him out.

Dang it. That was not in the plans. He held onto consciousness for another second as the world darkened around him.

“Delightful. Lovely manners, the three of you.” Then he fell unconscious.

 

\--------

 

They looked at the unconscious teen in distain.

“so why was he here disguised as logan?”

“I have no idea. He snuck out of the house after stealing my headphones and shifting to look like me, and I followed him here by air.”

“But how did he manage to capture your likenesses?”

“I have no idea. I was just as surprised as you were when he came out of his room looking like me and stole my headphones. He didn’t notice me sitting on the fridge.”

“not even going to ask. could this relate to his magic imbalance?”

“Yes and no. I believe the two are related, according to some of Corsiva’s notes, but I think one was built off of the other as a personal magical trait. We are trying to find more resources.”

“that sounds complicated.”

“This really isn’t my expertise. I’ve just been reading papers my wife gave me. This is the most extreme case I’ve ever seen, however. Not one has managed to have this kind of power, and what’s more, this trait imbalance happens in one in a million. It is so rare that there are very few to conduct this sort of research. It is hard to conduct any sort of proof or maintain any claims.”

“Oh. I assume that we can’t do anything then?”

“I do not know. This is a field rarely delved into.”

“i can tell you that his mind is a mess though.” They all looked at him. “what? i’m a psychologist.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“So you think Dee can be helped?”

“it’s possible.”

“Yes. I want help. You can never go away, can you?” Yay, Deceit was awake. Sans tried to smack him upside the head again but he managed to catch it somehow. Man, he was fast. He threw it at Sans, who teleported away a foot.

“hey. people are throwing things at me again. i’m getting flashbacks to the last department meeting we had.”

“You deserved it. The puns you told that day shall not be repeated.”

“You should have a pun-war with Patton.” Gaster groaned.

“Don’t encourage him! I have no idea where he got this fascination with humor!”

Dee cleared his throat. Nobody spared him a glance. He sighed, fiddling with the hem of his yellow and brown duster. He shifted to Roman. They didn’t notice. He looked around. He saw Alphys.

“Hey Alphys! A little help over here?~” He smiled in her direction as she hurried over, thinking he was Roman.

“H-Hey guys, why do y-you have Roman locked up?”

They looked up and saw Dee in his ‘Roman’ form, looking confused and innocent. They blinked as they tried to explain it.

“He’s-“

“Well, you see that-“

Virgil sighed, pulling a reference from Thomas’s videos. He pointed at him and shouted. “Deceit!” Dee sighed, letting the disguise go.

“Fine. It wasn’t worth a shot anyway.” She stiffened.

“D-Deceit?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” He looked around, bored. There was nothing to do but wait. So he twirled his bowler hat, which had fallen onto the ground when Sans had knocked him out. He had an idea. It had almost worked for Virgil, right?

“Hey Alphys?~” She tried not to look at him, but couldn’t resist her curiosity. She looked him dead in the glowing yellow eye and blinding smile, the hat twisting hypnotically.

“Y-Yeah?”

“Trust in me. Would I do anything wrong?~”

She was immediately under his spell, and her eyes turned yellow and glazed. Yellow cables connected the two of them like puppets. He smiled as the others tried to pry them off of her wrists and ankles. He flicked his wrist. Electricity flew out of the lizard’s hand and shocked the group, causing them to fall to the ground, unconscious. The bones dissolved. He flicked his hand in a shooing motion and she slumped to the ground like a puppet with the strings cut. He shifted to Virgil and walked through the building.

Nobody was there to stop him.

He grabbed a specific stack of papers and a glass container.

Time to get some leverage.

 

\---------

 

Undyne got a text from Alphys. She groaned.

“Well FUCK!”

Toriel glared at her. She looked down, feeling guilty. Toriel’s mom powers…

“What is worth such a display of vulgar language?” Ooh. Her tone was icy.

“One of the Sanders stole a bunch of papers from the Lab. Put up one he- heck of a fight too. Managed to knock them clean out.”

“Well isn’t this a fine pickle.” She looked queenly. “Where do you think he will head next?”

She got another text from her girlfriend. “They were on theoretical SOUL formation for the weed…”

She slammed down her fist in realization. “FLOWEY! He’s going to Frisk’s place!” Toriel looked merely amused. She sipped her tea.

“Well shouldn’t you go catch him?”

The fish warrior leapt up and ran out of the door. 

“Thanks Your Majesty!” She sprinted across town.

If only they had had tea at Undyne’s place…

But she was sure she’d get there in time. After all…

Who wouldn’t believe in a fish-woman who could run faster than a temmie on kool-aid?

She had to go get Sans... he would be much better for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to this the entire time I was writing this:   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAzl9OCUDWs  
> I was definitely inspired. Just gonna go out and say it- that is what inspired these next few chapters and Dee's character as a whole. It's really well done, and props to both the singer/songwriter and the edit.
> 
> So... I was originally going to try to space this out a bit but I got really bored and thought: Hey, if I'm bored that means other people might be too, right? So I uploaded a chapter. I'll be posting on Wednesday as usual, don't worry- I have way too many chapters already written for that to be a problem. Shoot, if I even uploaded ten at a time (which I would most likely never do unless nine of them were filler) I would barely make a dent. As of uploading this I'm at Chapter 85 and already planning the final arc before making sequel ideas. 
> 
> Anyway.... thanks for coming to my TED talk. I hope you enjoyed, feel free to chat in the comments about what you think will happen and what kind of things you think I should do- no seriously I'm all ears- and I hope you have a great day! 
> 
> (Every time I read   
> “Live and don’t suffer.” Die you little-
> 
> “I’d rather not. Death isn’t in my recommended calories.”
> 
> I laugh. I think that's the best thing I've ever written in two sentences.) Anyway, thanks! Have a great day! Here's some meme music because as I said, I'm really bored and I figured some people might like it!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV_CXemHWGU&index=22&t=0s&list=LL4IeP8-3k6RgHNJFx2QjCwg
> 
> He's really talented with a violin, and I just find it funny. Oh, and here's another: 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
> 
> =^._.^=
> 
> (Wow I ramble a LOT. Sorry!)


	51. Corrupted

He walked out of the Lab, papers and container in his backpack. He maintained the vision of Virgil as he walked home. He wore the headphones to discourage conversation and walked quickly- slowly enough as to not suggest a hurry, yet fast enough to get there shortly. He put some things into his bag. He put the papers into a school binder. Wrapped the container in an old cardigan of Patton’s. He grabbed a jar of Crofter’s and a water bottle and headed out.

He stopped by Roman’s room to grab his sword though. He would need a weapon. It was a worst case, but it had a 23% chance of likelihood, and he wasn’t about to take chances.

He headed towards Frisk house to find Flowey. He had a deal to make. He kept “Virgil” up however. He didn’t want to be bothered by people.

He had to focus on the main objective. Convince the flower.

That was what he had to do.

And he had the leverage to do it.

Why wouldn’t a Soul-less being want a SOUL?

He walked down the street, the darkening sky creating an ominous feeling in the air.

This was going to be perfect.

And if the flower messed it up, well….

There would be some regrets on its end in the morning.

 

\--------

 

 

He saw Flowey on the windowsill of the first-story kitchen. Perfect. Nobody was around either. He shifted to his normal self. He figured he’d want to keep a shred of honesty if he wanted to win over the flower.

So he crept closer.

“What do you want idiot?”

He blinked. Huh. It had good peripheral vision.

“I have a deal for you. You enjoy chaos, correct?”

“Who doesn’t? Well, don’t answer that question. These people are all insane anyway.”

“Good. I have a proposition for you.” He pulled out the papers. “I have obtained the ways to get you a SOUL if you help me accomplish what I want.”

The flower looked thoughtful. “Suppose I take your offer. What would I have to do?”

“Easy. Help me control and contain The Player of this universe.” He slid over a picture. The face of Jacksepticeye from Youtube looked back at the flower. “He’s stationed in LA.” The flower looked at him with a bored and exasperated expression.

“But we already know The Player. That monochromatic jackass that keeps popping in.” Dee shook his head. He piled on charisma.

“You misunderstand my friend. That person is this person. He’s controlling that with the power of DETERMINATION. We go to LA, kill him, and then free our world once for all, leaving us with the chance to take it over.~”

Flowey stared at him, then started to chuckle. Then it laughed a full-on maniac laugh that brought tears to the flower’s eyes.

“Oh my god! You are an idiot!” It laughed gleefully as vines erupted from the ground, trapping the human in a cocoon of plants.

It continued to laugh, before squeezing its prey like a python crushes its dinner for a split-second before loosening. He winced, being the prey. The deal seemed to not be working.

“Wow… you really are an idiot!” The plant chuckled once more. “Your bargaining power is USELESS! Your plan would fail, The Player wouldn’t cooperate, and you would get detained in the Lab. You seem to have no idea how this all works.”

Dee scoffed. Unbeliever.

“Oh, how wrong you are. I have it all figured out my dear.~” He twisted his hand, jumping out of the now loose confines, the flower’s mouth being shut by said plants. He swapped to Patton.

“Have a good day now!” He picked up the stuff as the flower tried to get out of its own creations. He walked around the side of the house…..

Into an attack.

He dodged some bones as he tried to create the illusion of a shield. Nothing happened. He saw the short skeleton smiling menacingly ahead.

“Hold on, hold on friendo! It’s me, Patton! What is all of this?” He held his hands up in surrender, the sleeves of his cardigan flapping in the wind. Please work…..

“sorry kid, but you’re coming with us.”

“But what happened? What did I do?”

“give it up.”

“But what did I do?!”

He was dragged along by Sans, who teleported the two of them into the Lab. He tried to fight, feeling trapped as he stared at the blank, unfeeling eyes of the skeleton. The bounty-hunter.

“What did I do?!” His voice echoed off the halls. His voice cracked as he repeated the line.

“What did I do?!”

 

What’s a little lie in the grand scheme of things?

What difference does it make?

Isn’t acting just lying? Why is it such a big deal?

People don’t get in trouble for acting, now do they?

 

**_~~ Do you think you are above consequences? ~~ _ **

 

Why is he being punished? He did nothing wrong!

Sure, he planned to do something, but he didn’t actually go through with it!

He didn’t do anything!

He didn’t do anything!

 

 He frantically swapped in order to try and do something to manipulate the situation. He didn’t have a plan, and that made his thoughts spiral. The one thing he didn’t plan for. He truly was an idiot. Different voices echoed against the walls, all saying the same thing.

“What did I do?!”

“What did I do?!”

“WHAT DID I DO?!”

Just as he ran out of ideas, he did the best thing he could think of. He feigned a faint. He was proud of how good he could do it, so why not? It had worked for him before. He slumped to the ground.

He hoped this worked.

 

\-------

 

The damn kid fainted? Yep. He felt the dead weight. Oh stars- he was tired of this shit. He was glad Undyne had went to him instead of the house, or she would have been fooled for sure.

He hoped the kid woke up soon. His patience was getting frayed, and he hadn’t snapped in a while. He needed to soon, and god help anyone who lit the match.

 

\--------

 

He was dragged to a security cell in the Lab. It was originally an observation room, but the door was one sided and the glass was replaced with blue energy lasers. Quite the setup.

He looked around after getting his bearings. He had had to keep his eyes closed after all, and that took a lot of energy to act like dead weight. His hat and jacket were on hooks outside of the cell, and his shoes were by the entrance to the cell. Like this was a home. Granted, he was lying in a rather comfortable bed, but that wasn’t much of a comfort.

What to do now?

He had some plans to make. The others did throw out of the window after all.

And this time he’d make multiple. And amount for failure.

He wouldn’t go down without a fight.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehehehehe~
> 
> I hope you all have an amazing day! Thank you for reading, and feel free to comment or kudos- it really does mean a lot that you guys read this. See you guys on Sunday unless I post earlier because I'm bored again! I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> (You can use my tumblr if you want to as well @//www.tumblr.com/blog/dorktapus42. I really don't mind if you want to send me a question or want me to write a little drabble or quote- you aren't bothering me at all and I'm happy to answer. Anyway..... thanks!)


	52. Cell-fie

Dee watched the activity out of his cell with little interest. His food lay untouched. He didn’t have the time or energy. Too many things to do. The coffee was the only thing he touched. He watched his bag being opened, the contents recorded and the files returned to their proper places.

He had an illusion up to keep them from wondering why he was acting strange. Thanks for the idea Loki. It seemed he could do more than change himself. He just couldn’t replicate magic.

His attention was caught when someone new came into the room.

His brother walked up to the cell.

They stared at each other. Dee was actually surprised. Why was he here? He continued to think. Remy sighed, taking off his sunglasses and cleaning them on his t-shirt.

“So why’d you do it?”

He didn’t respond. Then he had an idea. He’d play a card he hated- the weak card. He flopped on the bed, wrapping himself in a blanket and acting like Virgil on a bad day.

“Patton hasn’t stopped fretting the last two days. He’s getting annoying.”

 No reaction.

“Dad called. He’s coming home in a week.”

No reaction. He kept lying on his side. He hoped this worked… no. It would. It had to.

“Why the illusion bro-ham? You’re ripping off Marvel now.” He finally sighed after a few seconds of silence, letting it melt away and revealing the teen lying on the bed.

“Wow.” There were a few seconds of silence as the two looked at each other, twin to twin. “You look like shit hon.”

Dee tried to speak but failed. He nodded in acknowledgement. He’d better win an Oscar for this…. Remy raised his eyebrows. “Wow. You’re admitting to defeat? You do feel like shit.” He sighed, turning away, the blanket wrapped around him. Remy sighed. “Look I didn’t mean it like that hon. You know all of this is just-“

“Though all the lies you can see, you still think that I can be redeemed.” Poetry never failed him. And he had a flair for the dramatics.

Remy didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I may not be an expert, but I know you. You wouldn’t be like this without a reason.”

“Well I sure as hell don’t know what it is.” He had to layer it on thick. He hated pretending to be weak. Strong he was fine with. It was as easy as breathing. But weakness… he detested it.

“Hey Doc! He’s doin’ somethin’!”

He sighed as he sat up, the blanket still around his shoulders. That bear monster sure loved to tell everyone what he was doing. He took the term keep an eye on the prisoner seriously. There was a reason he put up an illusion after all. He had plans to protect.

He ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stand on end. “Well I do look like a mess, that’s for sure.” He chuckled brokenly. Perfect. “Shoot- I don’t even have the energy to lie to you guys. I haven’t slept in a day and a half. My eyes feel like shit- I doubt I can even do anything of much power. I’m sapped from keeping up that stupid illusion anyways.”

Remy listened with an odd look on his face.

He felt his eyes grow hot. “What, don’t you care about me?” Oscar winning performance right there.

“No.” He felt a spike of ice wedge itself into his heart. Emotion? That was ridiculous. He blinked a few times, hand on his chest in shock. Dramatic, sure, but he was selling it.

“I care for those you’ve hurt. I care for you, but mostly about what you’ve done.”

He flopped back onto the bed hard, waving his hand. The air around him rippled with magic before an illusion masked him. Perfect exit.

Remy pounded on the side of the cell. “Dee! I need to know! Why?!” He ignored him, thinking.

He was going to play this until he lay on his deathbed.

 

\---------

 

Papyrus was making spaghetti for his husband, who was sick.

He hated it when anyone he cared about were ill.

But he liked caring for them, so he guessed it was a give and take. They gave away their health, and he took the time to help them heal.

He was starting to act like Sans with all of these puns.

Huh.

He scooped some sauce on his pasta and took a taste to see if he’d gotten the amount of glitter right.

Perfect. Metta was going to love this.

Hopefully he’d get better soon….

 

\---------

 

Dee was watching the outside again. There was little to watch, but Remy had left and there was some peace and quiet.

He was tired of keeping up an illusion, but he’d rather create a plan then do nothing, so he forced himself to keep it up. Nobody else had been let down here to see him, and he was turning for the worse without any social interaction. He knew this. He’d asked for a book after a few hours of boredom, but nothing arrived. He’d listened to so many conversations he’d learned all of the scientists in this Wing’s names. He’d kept an illusion up so much that few monitored the cameras, knowing they’d be tricked.

He told himself not to care. He has another stage of the Plan to perfect.

He hadn’t eaten in a few days. He drank water to keep himself alive, but other than that he just felt… listless. He didn’t need the food anyway. He wasn’t moving much, so why did it matter?

He simply sat, listening to the world around him- a world he couldn’t enjoy.

But he was glad.

At least the interns played music. Sure, it was in Japanese most of the time, but he didn’t care unless it was so loud it interrupted his thoughts.

So he lay there, thinking about nothing, until someone put on Gasoline. This was Logan’s favourite song, contrary to popular belief. He listened to it intently until a figure caught his attention. Surprise, surprise, it was Logan working on some papers at a nearby table. He got up off the bed, taking the blanket from his shoulders and at the foot of the piece of furniture. He let the illusion fade away. He ignored the rest of the room’s shocked intakes of breath. Yes, he had magic. Deal with it. Seriously.

He had another person to control.

“Hello Logan.” His cousin looked up, nodding in his direction.

“Hello Dee.” The room waited with bated breath. Dramatic much? The song ended in the tense silence. Pit of Vipers came on. Finally, a track that wasn’t full of anime songs. A bit dramatic, but it would do.

“It’s nice to finally see someone I know. How are the others doing?”

“If I’m assuming that you are without your usual inflection of sarcasm, they are doing fine. If you are being manipulative however, they want nothing to do with you.”

That was fair. Not the answer he was hoping for, but it would do.

“Thank you for your answer. Nobody here wishes to have anything to do with me.” Ugh. Pity points.

“Gee, I cannot imagine why.” He went back to working on the papers. “Have you eaten anything in the last three days?”

Had it been three days? Huh. The 24-hour work forces seemed to throw time off for him. It was like Vegas in here.

“That would be a no.” Logan looked up, exasperated.

“First Thomas then you! You need to maintain a consistent eating and drinking schedule of you will have adverse side effects!”

“Yeah, I’m here for the lectures Mr. Sanders. Will there be a test on Friday?”

“Was that really necessary?”

“No. I’m just maximizing my personal interaction before you leave.”

“Thank you for your honesty.”

“Of course. It’s only logical. People keep beating around the bush.”

“Stop communicating with the prisoner.” They both turned to stare at the offending worker.

“I haven’t had a decent conversation with any of you since I started working here. If I have to have one with a prisoner I will.”

“None of you have talked to me in three days. Even I need to be social.” He wasn’t needed for the plan, and he had a feeling that this would be beneficial knowing Logan’s temper.

“Exactly. These conditions are horrible. Even criminals up here on the surface get better treatment than this. A cell-mate. Something.” Yep. Pity points were annoying, but effective.

The monster huffed. “Well I’m sorry Logan that us Monsters don’t come up to your standards. Now discontinue your talks with the prisoner or you will be moved to a different sector.”

Logan blinked at them a few times. “You have met all of my standards. I was just saying that-“

“Well don’t say anything if you can help it. Now get back to work and don’t argue.”

He grumbled and finished the papers, standing up to bring them to Doctor Gaster.

“Hey Logan?”

“Yes Harold?” He said with his teeth clenched. Dee had never seen him so annoyed. This was excellent.

“Tell Doctor Gaster that you are being re-assigned to a different unit. Your work priorities are a liability in this department.”

“Yes sir.” He walked out of the room stiffly. He was evidently used to this sort of treatment. How many other departments had he been kicked out of? He was the smartest person here. Well, except for him, but Logan was rather book-smart.

“Hey, why’d you do that?” He flopped on the ground, “You afraid of something? Jealous?” Harold glared at him. This was just a plus. This monster was only a pawn- a plaything for his amusement.

“Shut up prisoner.”

“You’re just proving my point.” He was great at being aggravating. But he was surprised when Logan came back into the room.

“The Doctor sends his deepest apologies. I will now be working in a different department.”

“Oh? Which one?” he looked ready to snark at the intern.

“His.” He turned on his heel and walked back down the hall, the doors swinging shut behind him. You smiled as you surrounded yourself with magic.

Revenge was sweet, wasn’t it?

This would lead to more connections….

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry I uploaded this later than usual- completely forgot until I was lying in bed. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, have a lovely day, and see you guys on Wednesday!


	53. Regrets, Amends, and IHOP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry this was out late- I had a lot of classes yesterday and completely forgot. Welp, here it is now!

Dee was thinking, staring at the ceiling, when he saw the door open on the other side of the room. Next stage. He hated this one, but it was the best he could come up with and he’d had it planned for a day. He threw some last things around his room and crouched in the corner. A tall skeleton stepped in. Two skeletons actually. Gaster and Sans. They saw the teen laying on the bed as soon as they walked in. It was simply a mask- like a label on a jar. Gaster looked at the figure crouched in the corner one the door closed, knees to his chest. He didn’t look up, even though he knew they were there. Sans looked thoughtful. Dee finally looked up, his eyes made hollow with an illusion.

[What do you want.]

They raised their eyebrows at the same time. Silent, eh? It was a tactic that worked well.

“Why do you not communicate? You seemed happy to three days ago.”

He simply met them with a blank, hollow stare. His eyes were bloodshot, and the bags under his eyes would have had to be checked in on any airline they were so large. Side effect of the planning, but it was useful. He’d barely had to alter anything.

“Why would I talk if all I was met with was silence?”

Sans looked at his father in curiosity. The interns were supposed to keep him in good mental condition- conversate, all that stuff. They just had to stop and tell them if they felt he was getting manipulative.

So why were they disobeying their orders? Unless…

“so nobody’s talked to you in days? have you eaten anything? drank water, gotten sleep?”

“I drink water. That’s it. Why would I do anything else if nobody cared?”

Their eyebrows rose again. Okay… that raised some alarms. He texted Papyrus.

 

**skele-pun: okay. Bring them in. he’s pretty bad.**

**COOL DUDE: OKAY!**

 

The door opened, and a few figures came in, ushered by Papyrus: Remy, Patton, Roman, and Virgil. They looked at the cage, seeing nothing wrong- only Dee sitting on a bed, Gaster and Sans standing opposite. With a small manufactured sigh, Dee lowered the illusion. They all gasped at the sight.

He was sitting in the corner, broken pieces of bedframe; torn blankets and pillows everywhere. It was dim, one of the lightbulbs in the lighting fixture shattered. Sans and Gaster were standing by the door.

Thanks for the idea Marvel. It had happened anyway, as a side-effect of his powers- his emotions eventually caused some things to break.

Patton rushed forwards. “Kiddo!” he was stopped by the bars and the closed door. “Can I go in? I need to see him.” Ooh. He was so gullible! This would be fun.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that just yet until we’re aware that he won’t do anything. My apologies.”

“No, no, no, no, no! This isn’t right! Let me in there! Can’t you see he’s suffering?”

The lasers were lowered, but Dee immediately put up a brick wall around himself. Patton knew it was an illusion…. but it was just so lifelike he stopped in his tracks before he ran into it.

“Come on kiddo! What’s wrong?” The wall disappeared. Dee looked up. They saw the dead look in his eyes.

“Everything.” Ugh. He deserved an Oscar at the end of this.

Virgil crept forwards. “That isn’t true. There’s still a lot of good things.” He swallowed.

“No there isn’t.” His voice was monotone and cold.

“Falsehood.” Logan came in. “These thoughts are highly illogical and unproductive. Why do you believe in them so?”

“Three days of isolation Logan.” He stuck in curled body language, his voice now clipped and strained as well.

“You were surrounded by people, now could one be-“

“Three days of people not giving a damn about what you were doing, how you were feeling, or if you were alive or not Logan. Three days. 52 sleepless hours. 4320 minutes of feeling like you were worthless as your optimism slowly ebbed away.” He’d done the math ahead of time. He knew it would work on anyone.

“Oh.”

“Oh?! That’s all you have to say to that?!” Dee stood up, face red. “’Oh’ to hundreds, thousands of thoughts that said that I was worthless, that I should just try to do anything to get some attention-“

“Dee, I-“

“-that I wasn’t enough?!” he was panting now. “I thought I wasn’t enough. Strong enough, clever enough, brave enough, respected enough. I thought I was trash that you all tried to throw away.”

“I’m sorry that I ever gave you that indication-“

“I’VE HAD ENOUGH LOGAN!” He put up another brick wall. When they tried to go through it, they couldn’t. He was ‘too angry’ to be soothed. Patton was sniffling. Virgil was looking like he wanted to punch the wall and slap Dee. Remy was thinking rapidly. Logan was in shock.

“okay, okay, okay. it seems that this didn’t-“

“Stay.” The voice came through the walled enclosure. “I haven’t had any company in almost a week, so please... stay. I’m sorry.” Ugh. He had to slather it on like butter. He almost made himself sick with ‘sincerity’.

“Oh kiddo!” Patton was trying not to cry. “You’re not trash. You’re not replaceable. You’re enough. I’m sorry that you ever thought you weren’t.”

Behind the wall there was a smile on Dee’s face. This was all going to plan.

He wasn’t ever going to be weak again.

He’d pick the winning team, no matter the cost.

He wasn’t going to be weak.

He wasn’t.

Now he had to convince the others that he was repentant. Get on their good sides.

This would be fun.

 

\---------

 

 

At the same time Dee was sitting in his cell planning, there were plans being made.

“So what will we do now?” The one swathed in blue was picking at his fingernails.

“We will strike where it hurts.”

“The Memorial?”

“Yes.”

Oh, that would hurt them.

“What plans will we have to make? Anything we need?” The one in light purple was writing down things on a yellow notepad.

“First, people. We weren’t conservative in the last march, so we will have some trouble finding recruits. We may have to postpone this for a month or two.”

“That’s fine. Let them get their guard down. If anything, that’s better.”

“True.”

“Okay…. I’ll call our contacts in San Francisco and Grant’s Pass. I’ll message Him if we have any complications.”

“Sounds good. Text me by Friday if you can. We’ll make plans from then.”

“Meeting adjourned.”

“Cool. Anyone want to go to IHOP?”

“I have to leave in the morning, but sure. I can’t stay out too late though. Sorry Green.”

“No man, that’s cool. Who want to go drown things in syrup with Orange and I? Red?”

“I’ll think about it. The one on Denver Avenue?”

“Yep.”

“Maybe after I do some paperwork. It sounds like fun.”

“Cool. Hope you can join us. Yellow?”

“I would, but I have to get back to the wife.”

“No problem. Say hi to her for me. How’s Angel settling in?”

“Not too bad. I’m sure the transition must be hard. Can’t imagine what it must be like to be adopted.”

“It’s pretty hard. It should work out in time though.”

“Hopefully. Gotta give her a kiss from her other mom! See you guys!” She threw on her outdoor coat and walked out of the room.

They started cleaning up. “Wanna come Blue?”

“Sure. You know me and blueberry pancakes.”

“Are the two of you going to have an eat-off again? We were kicked out of Denny’s the last time.”

“No, that was Micky D’s. How many chicken nuggets did you eat again?”

“73. You ate 85.”

“Most delicious win I’ve ever had.”

“Shall we? You coming Orange?”

 “Sure. They make good hot chocolate and I need some social interaction.”

“Cool. Cyan?”

“Have to go to work in the morning. Sorry.”

“Nah, it’s cool. We should probably change into our street clothes though. Less conspicuous. We look like a bunch of anime protagonists right now. We just need funky hair.”

“You know where the bathroom is.”

“I’ve already got funky hair Green. You’ve seen me in the morning bro.”

“True Blue. Thanks Red.” He snagged a bag and headed out of the room. A few of the others joined him.

Red gathered all of his papers. There was only one question to answer.

Who was The Player? And could they be of use?

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a great day! Thank's for reading, and I truly hope you all have a great day! I'll post this weekend if nothing goes wrong again!


	54. A Bone To Pick

Frisk, Sans, Toriel, and Dee were at IHOP. They were watching the teen to make sure he didn’t do anything, but he was too busy eating pancakes to care.

They noticed a group of young adults enter the restaurant. They were chatting adamantly about what kind of hot drink was better. They seemed familiar….

Sans’s eyes lit up as he placed it. Your eyes widened. They were some of the heads of the NMC.

But they were just getting pancakes… no trouble, right?

Sans stood up. “i’m gonna be right back. stay here friskito.” Dee looked up from his pancakes for air. He seemed like he was repentant…. This was odd, but you wanted to optimistic. Your inner Chara told you to stay on your toes, but you waved it away. He was getting better, right?

“Sans, trust me for once. Do not engage.” Sans shrugged it off, getting out of his chair. He sighed. “Sans. You will regret this if you do. Look at their body language. They’re here for a night off. They will fight if necessary. That will make them violent.”

“Sans.” Ooh, Toriel was using her Queen voice. “As your friend, I will try my best to keep you from doing something you will regret. Please sit down before you draw any more attention to us.” She was right. People were starting to stare.

Sans sighed bitterly before returning to his seat. “fine. if something bad happens, don’t say i didn’t warn you.”

“Fair enough.” They continued to eat their pancakes, stealing glances at the group across the building. They hadn’t taken notice of them yet.

Frisk drowned their pancakes in syrup. They glanced over to the group. They were having an eat off between someone named Blue and someone named Green. They must be codenames. The waitress in charge of their table simply stood back and watched, bringing them massive stacks of pancakes every few minutes.

They watched them as the room slowly emptied. They were still eating somehow. The one in an orange sweater was cheering them on. Another one, this time in a red t-shirt, came in, looking amused in their antics. Sans looked like he wanted to stand up and flip the table.

“Sans. It isn’t worth it. Wait it out.”

“don’t tell me what to do lyin’ king.”

He blinked. “Jeeze. Sorry I didn’t want you to go to jail. Feel free to attack all of those people and get arrested for attempted murder charges.” He went back to his pancakes, honestly not giving a crap. Why was he trying to make amends to them? Oh yes. It would make his life easier until the tables turned.

“Dunkle Sans. Please.”

He looked Frisk in the eyes for a full five seconds before relaxing and finishing his bacon. “fine.”

The rest of the meal was in a very tense silence.

They paid.

They even headed out the door.

But then the Red dude from inside was waiting at the street-corner. They hadn’t noticed him leave.

“Hello.”

“'sup.”

“Fancy meeting you here.”

“likewise.”

They stood there in a tense silence. Toriel took Frisk and went home, leaving only Sans and Dee waiting in the light from the restaurant.

Sans winked at the man in red, smiling. Dee felt nervous. But he had to stick with Sans. He was the one he had to convince. And he was his ride to the Lab, but that wasn’t too important. He’d find another way there if he had to.

Some bones appeared. So did some red knives. The one in red- let’s call him Red for simplicity. Red’s eyes glowed the same colour as his shirt. Only the most stylish coordinate their outfit with their magic.

“I wouldn’t fight if I were you.”

“i wouldn’t want to fight me either.”

Dee sighed, annoyed at last. This was giving way to little progress. “Yes, yes. Very macho. Now can we-“

“Shut UP kid. I’m tired of you all making us look like FOOLS!”

“scram. you don’t want to see me truly angry.”

He turned on his heel and walked away rapidly. The fight was inevitable. He probably lowered his merit in the skeleton’s eyes. He’d have to build that up.

Bones flew. Knives danced. They continued to beat the crap out of one another’s defenses. But the odd thing was that they both stood stock still. Dee sighed. They were going to get noticed soon and it was all going to go downhill….

“Hey kid.” He turned around. The one in blue was standing there. “That monster a friend of yours?”

“More of a caretaker. Why?”

“He’s not bad. Tell him to watch his back though. Red tries to attack there with a knife about three turns from now.”

He gave the man a nod and turned towards the fight, annoyance coursing through him and his eye burning yellow. He waited and formed a wall behind Sans just as a knife appeared and dug itself deep into the brick before the wall faded in depth and dropped it to the ground, fortunately fulfilling its purpose. Sans didn’t even turn around. He simply focused on the prey in front of him. He could’ve died, and he didn’t even care. Thanks man. That energy went towards saving his life, and he got no benefit out of it. What a waste. That would have been one less to influence.

Then he had an idea for influencing someone else. He concentrated and thought of Gaster’s desk. It was always the same way, so it was pretty easy. He barely used it. He thought of a paper with the message on it. He hoped it worked. If it didn’t, well, he’d be annoyed in multiple ways. He’d have to find another opportunity, and he didn’t want this to go to waste more than it had.

A few seconds later he felt a presence behind him.

“You called?” He turned around.

“Cool. That worked. Sans and this Red guy are fighting. I couldn’t stop them if I tried.” Good. This was turning into a situation he could use.

“We will have to train you then. For now, watch and learn.” Ooh. More opportunities to get on his good side.

He waved his hand, and a row of bones appeared between them. Multiple bones destroyed their projectiles. He teleported up to his son and grabbed his hood.

“Enough games. Let’s go.” He teleported away. The bones and walls vanished. The two of them simply stood and looked at each other. Gaster returned and grabbed his arm. “Come Mr. Sanders.”

They disappeared in a flash of static.

 

\--------

 

They appeared in the Lab. Dee had been given a room by Gaster instead of a cell down in the SOUL department. He walked towards it.

“Thanks Doc. I owe you one.”

“No problem Mr. Sanders. It is my son’s fault for being such a bonehead. Have a nice evening.” He walked to his office.

Dee walked to his room. A green shield enveloped his door as soon as it closed, keeping him in. He lay on the floor. The bed was not very comfortable, so he slept on the floor. It had multiple health benefits too, as Logan was ready to point out. Besides, he made it into a nest with blankets, so it was pretty comfortable.

He lay there looking at the ceiling. His father was coming home soon. He had to make a plan for that. Maybe find a way to get released? He wasn’t betting on it.

He wasn’t looking forward to it. Sure, he loved his parent, but he knew two fundamental truths of the universe. 1) His father would pick his brain. As a psychologist, he would go into Dr. Picani mode. 2) He hadn’t heard about any of this. And there was no way things would go back to normal by the time he came back.

He’d still be locked in the Lab and the others would still hate him. He hadn’t seen most of them in days. Roman probably hated him. Flowey would want revenge. He didn’t know much about his powers, other than the fact that he could create illusions and hypnotize people.

His mind whirred.

And Christmas was approaching. He was lucky he had been on break for Thanksgiving when all of this happened, so he didn’t miss school, but time was running short. School would start in a little less than a week, and he didn’t know what would happen before then.

Then he heard a knock at the door. He got up as it opened.

“Hello Mr. Sanders.”

“Hey Doc. What’s going on?”

“I figured some late-night training was in order. It worked wonders for Sans when he was your age.” Perfect. This was coming together faster than expected.

“I’m pretty tired… but I likewise don’t want something like what happened today to happen again. I’ll take your offer.”

“Good. Come with me.”

He followed the skeleton out of the room.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehehehehe~
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed and that you all have a great day! A lot of new characters will be introduced in the next few chapters, so I hope you enjoy all of that! I've actually written out the rest of the story by now, and kind of want to write a sequel, but I'm wondering if I should make it one long book like this one or whether it should be in a one-shot format? Feel free to give me suggestions in the comments if you have any opinion! I'll probably end up doing a little of both, but I would like your input if you want to give it! 
> 
> In the meantime, I have a series I put together! I added a bit to it recently, and it has a few things I might not put on Tumblr (because that sounds like a lot of work) so feel free to check it out! 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/series/1113630
> 
> Anyway, self promo over, have a lovely day and thanks for reading!


	55. Glass Butterfly

Undyne was watching a movie with Alphys. They were watching Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog. It had everything they wanted- a hero, a villain, reversed stereotypes, romance.

It was perfect. The microwave dinged. She got up to get it. Then she realized she was pinned by a very sleepy dinosaur.

She smiled as she let the microwave ring. It would turn off eventually. Besides-

Who wouldn’t want to spend time with the one she considered proposing to?

Well, she still had to find the perfect ring….

 

\--------

 

Gaster teleported him to a snowy clearing. Fortunately he was still wearing his coat, but it still made him shiver. Well. He had a job to do. He had to do it well. He pushed all thoughts of deception out of his mind. This kind of thing was best to grow organically.

“W-Why is it s-so cold?”

“We’re in Snowdin my boy. There is a reason behind the name.”

“Y-You teleported me all the way to the Underground?!”

“Yes. Let’s begin with some warmups.”

They stood facing each other.

“Shift to one of your family members.”

“Any specifics?”

“None.”

He shifted to Roman. He was default. Classic. Boring.

“Good. Try to summon his weapon.”

“I’ve told you I can’t-“

“Try.” Ooh teacher mode.

He concentrated on what made Roman Roman. Nothing happened. Then he tried using his emotions as fuel. Nothing. He even tried finding the aspects of Roman in himself. Nothing.

“Nothing?”

“Nope.”

“Try harder.”

He was sweating now. Sweat ran down his neck. Nothing happened.

“Nothing.”

“Have you tried forming an illusion of the weapon?”

Oh. That should have been the first thing he tried. He concentrated imagining the weapon from all angles. How it would feel in the hand. The hum of magic in the air. A sword appeared, but it was as translucent as a glass of water. An imperfect copy…. useless.

“That is a start. We shall try that later. Try to hypnotize me.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Try to hypnotize me.”

He searched his head. What to do? He found the answer. His eye lit up, and he imagined an umbrella in his hand. He opened it, the swirly pattern exactly what he was hoping for. He turned it slowly, his eye glowing bright. He began to speak.

“Hey Doctor Gaster?~”

“Hmm?”

“The interesting thing about trying to hypnotize people is the fact that it differs from person to person. Isn’t that strange?~”

“I would say so but what does that have to do with that exercise?”

“Absolutely nothing.~” And everything. The skeleton finally looked him in the eye, his guard down a little.

“Then isn’t all of this talk pointless?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.~” His eye flashed, and Gaster’s eyelights turned yellow and glowing yellow cables connecting the two of them. Perfect. He resisted the urge to get him to comply with his whims and snapped his fingers, letting the umbrella disappear. Gaster returned.

“Well that is certainly an interesting feeling.”

“How do you feel?” He was honestly curious.

“As if all of my senses were just submerged underwater.” He shook his head. “I’m actually rather tired.”

“I do believe that is one of the side effects. Alphys full on collapsed the time I hypnotized her.”

“I’m assuming it depends on both the strength of the defense and the condition of the mind you are working on.”

“Most likely. It took quite a while to work past your defenses. Last time I did it with just a few words.”

“Interesting.”

“What now?” He felt energized. Modivated.

“Have you had any luck with turning into people other than your family? A monster?”

“I haven’t tried.”

“Well try now.”

He did. He imagined Papyrus. What motivated him. His personality. What he would do in this situation. His vision went white for a second and he got a splitting headache. He fell to his knees, holding his pounding head.

“Ow… ow… ow… I don’t think that will work…. ow…”

Gaster held his head, his left hand glowing green. The pain subsided, and he was able to see straight. He stood up. This was a definite limitation. Goodbye plan Q.

“Definitely doesn’t work with a monster. I can conjure an image of one, but I can’t turn into one.”

He waved his hand and an image of Undyne appeared before fading.

“It probably has to do with their chemical and physical makeup and their illusionary counterparts.”

“Pardon?”

“Monsters are made of magic, with very few physical particles. That is why we turn to dust when we die. You can’t turn into one because you are made of much more physical matter, and you essentially become the illusion in a sense when you ‘shift’ to one. You are similar in structure to most humans, but definitely not like monsters.”

“What about another human? They have just as much physical matter as I do.”

He tried Frisk. Nothing happened. He tried again. Nope. At least he wasn’t splitting into a headache. He just felt tired. He then thought about Joan. Remy’s friend, not the skeleton. He was able to turn into them easily. Hmm.

“It appears to be choice humans. Odd.” He stretched. “Anything else you want me to do?”

“Yes. Try to make a physical being.”

“Excuse me?” Gaster took out a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and opened it. He saw the message he had sent from earlier.

“You have immeasurable power. From miles away you managed to create a physical object with half a thought. Try to create a living thing.”

He tried. He imagined a butterfly. A simple insect- the kind Patton would like for whatever reason. They were weak, spineless. Easily crushable. But symbolic and simple. Nothing happened. Then he tried to make an illusion of it. Start from the basics. It appeared, its yellow wings fluttering, the pattern shivering in the cold air. He willed it to be as solid as possible. By now his eye was glowing like a lightbulb. He shook with the effort. His brain ran through anatomy books his cousin had loaned him. Wings, tissue, molecules. His thoughts raced in detail, from structure to structure. It fluttered as an illusion, then landed on Gaster’s outstretched hand. It was real.

Holy shit.

He created a living thing. He felt something- joy? Pride?

He was winded. He let out a noise of surprise as he fell to the ground with nothing to support him- his legs were jelly. His SOUL turned blue and he remained as he was. Granted, he was half-falling, but that was better than panting on the ground. He found his voice.

“Uh, thanks.”

“You are very welcome Mr. Sanders.” The butterfly flew into the distance, towards the Ruins. Oh. It would escape. They turned towards it, Dee regaining the use of his legs and standing upright. They watched the yellow insect fly, the snake-like eyes on the wings staring back as it flew around them and away.

He absently thought of a cane, not surprised when nothing happened. He was sapped. “I don’t know if we can do any more-“

“I was expecting nothing less.”

He stared at the skeleton in shock. He was expecting to have to fight for that.

“Honestly, I am slightly flabbergasted at what you were able to accomplish. I was only expecting you to be able to create an illusion with as much structure as a breath of wind. No offense, of course, Mr. Sanders.”

He sent him a tired smirk-disguised-as-a-smile. “You were right though.”

“Pardon?”

“It did work wonders.”

“Good. We shall repeat this training every night, if that is alright with you.”

“It’s fine with me. I am curious, to be honest.” To learn how to control you. How do you tick monster?

“About?” They were walking the winding road to the entrance of the town. He racked his brain, surprised. He needed to not zone out.

“Why it all starts with an illusion. I can’t create anything out of thin air. I have to focus on the illusion of it first.”

“Maybe your power is more central to you than you realize.” With that thought he teleported the two of them back.

He had a lot of sleep to get.

He was super tired. Today was exhausting.

He would definitely have the coffee offered tomorrow. Maybe get more. Well, he supposed he’d ask, if only to be ‘polite’.

Ugh. Kindness was infuriating.

How did Patton and Thomas do it without killing somebody?

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dang it. Sorry this was late again! I keep ending up forgetting it with class. Ugh. I suppose I should just say that I'm going to end up switching the schedule to Thursdays and Sundays because I'll most likely forget on Wednesdays. Oh well, such is life. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to check out some of my other stuff in the meantime if you want to! I have a couple of projects in the works so that's fun! Anyway, self-promo over, I hope you all have a lovely day!


	56. Hacks! I call hacks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a day late! I forgot my USB like a dingus so.... yeah. Here it is!

Sean was lying on the couch, working with Robin to edit a video via Skype Chat. Chase and Anti were over, having a teabag-trickshot competition. Anti was winning. Chase’s step-brother Marvin was over, drinking some tea instead of fooling around with the teabags. They pressured him to join. He sighed, acquiescing.

“Pass me the blooming teabags. Let Marvin show you his magic. Keep the cup where it is.”

The two of them looked at him. He was sitting twelve feet from the cup, there was no way he-

Then the dull thunk of the teabag landing squarely in the cup was heard. They all watched him sip his tea in a stunned silence.

“H͙a̠͛c̲͘k̞͂s̮̔.̜͌ ̨͘Î͓ ͉̏c̜̃ā͍l̠͋l̖ ̳̈h͈̒â̲ċ̝k̝̄s͚̈́.̡͠"̫̌

“This isn’t the Matrix Anti.”

Marvin winked at him from behind the mask, still drinking his tea. He’d made it himself, and he was super proud of it. It was really good actually, and even Anti had to admit it was decent. This was the guy who probably had coffee running through his veins 99% of the time. High praise.

Then the power went out. Anti swore. Marvin fiddled around with something. He lit a lighter. The flame glowed blue.

“You guys okay?” They all stared at the flame. “What?”

“Ḧ̖ỏ̤w̗͋ ̨͂t̥̅h̠̉ĕ̗ ̱͛ḧ͓́ẻ͜l͈͑l̳̿ ͚̒d̻̅i̫̓d̬͝ ̺̀ÿ̩́o̯͝u̥͊ ̪̾g̤͠e̻̕t̘͆ ̼͂tͅh̢͛a͓͑t͖͒ ͇͒f͓̿l̟͘a̤͗m̻͊e̻͊ ̻̋t̺͊o̰͋ ̙̒l̖͋o̤o̳͑k̬̓ ͔̓s̩ǫ̈́ ̲̒c̡͝o̻͐ȍ̰l̰̓?̜ ͎͂Ḯ͍ ̨̅w̤͝a͕n̩̂t̎͜ ̼̈ó͔n̟̐e̝̋!̭̆"͙́

 “Magic….” He was evidently uncomfortable under his mask. The flame flickered, then the lighter went out. Anti swore again as he flicked the lighter multiple times.

There was the sound of ruffling paper and a groan as someone realized what he had to do for the night to commence. Then a strange language was heard.

 _“_ _Lux tenebras discute._ _”_  

The lights flickered for a moment, then the power came back on. They all stared at the magician, who was looking back at them sheepishly from behind a large book. They could see weird runes that covered the margins of every page, and the letters were in a strange language. Latin?

“Okay. What the hell man?”

“̵͑Y̴ȯ̸u̴͝ ̸̒a̸͗ ̶̏m̵̾a̴͐g̷͝i̶̋c̸̍i̵̾ä̸ṅ̴ ̸̌õ̸r̸̿ ̴̀s̷̈́o̷͂m̸̔ẻ̷t̷̎ḧ̷́i̵̽n̸͑g̵͆?̷̒”̷̒

Anti had grabbed a knife. He placed it back on the counter slowly. You knew it served a purpose and that Anti knew how to use it. He both made the knife and practiced knife-throwing daily.

“…Of a sort.” He said reluctantly, closing the book and sliding it into his bag. They looked at him expectantly. He sighed. “Okay. You know the classic magic I do? Wands, rabbit out of the hat, etcetera?”

“Y͚͌ḙ̈́s̳͑.͓͒ ̠̓W̘̋ḧ́ͅa͓̚t̼̔'̲̈s̛ͅ ̹̂t͉̊h̼͑ȧ̩t̗͌ ̬̋g͎͒ó͕t̢̾ ̦̑ṭ̿o͐͜ ̜̅d͖͒ō͉ ̬̏w̮̒ỉ̼ṭ̿h̟ ̱̓á̭n͍ỵ̎t͉̋ḩ͝i̠͋ń͍g͈̅?̺̅"̝̈́

“Well, that’s not the only kind of magic out there.” He did a simple hand motion. A playing card appeared between his fingers. He slid it back into his sleeve with a practiced ease. “That. That’s simple street magic. Anyone can learn it with practice. It’s all about misdirection.”

He concentrated, holding out his hand. A wisp of smoke and fire appeared an inch or so above his palm, forming the silhouette of a dancing creature with a flowy dress and a large fan. “This. This is magic. The true art. It’s about manipulating the forces of the universe to your advantage. It’s all about balance. You work with it. Bend it around you. Don’t force it. And it cooperates if you don’t mishandle it. Those who are masters with this art can control the fundamental laws of the universe. It’s not a gift given lightly.”

“Okay…. I’m not sure to be thrilled or terrified.”

“Fair enough. I wasn’t either when I first learned about it. I thought it was a joke. I have learned better now. There is a reason I wear a mask.” Anti sat forwards in his seat on the couch.

“W͓̊h͖̅ǎ̡t̢̚'̳͌s̼̈́ ͉̔ẗ̘́h͚̄e̫̽ ̼r͙̂ê̺a̧̅s̍ͅơ̦ṅ̯?͍̊"

He sighed, unhooking it from behind his ears. It revealed a rune on the center of his forehead- it looked like a series of arrows pointing up. It glowed faintly. He put his mask back on. “That is very similar to the Norse rune of Tiwaz, roughly translating to balance. I needed a reminder of who was in control.”

He brushed his hair over the top of his mask.

“And now I know.”

There was a moment of silence. Marvin clapped his hands together, startling all of them except Anti. “So! Shall we watch something? We were going to watch Rick and Morty because the kids were away. Chase?”

“Yes?”

“Fetch us the remote! Season 3 everyone?”

“Yep! We have to get caught up!”

“E͎̅v̩̉i̙̒l̠͒ ̝́M͔͗ǒ͔ȑ̢t̫͌ỷ̫ ̳͝i͛ͅs̯͑ ̺̒t̰͛h̺̃e̺͆ ͇̚b̮̐ë͎́s̟̚t̙̃.̯͠"̛̩

They all stared at him.

“Dude! No spoilers!”

“B͔ȗ̠t̞͛ ̭͊ţ̉ḥa̗̐t̯̋'̬͘s̺̕ ̤̓n̘͂o̲͐t͉̍ ̹͝ą̓ ̛̪s̻̈p̧͒ơ̧i͈̎l̩̀ȇ͖r͕̎!̮̒ ̡̊Ĥ͜e͚͆'̰͌s̡̽ ̹̊ǎ̭l̩̐l͍̈́ ̘͝o̩̓v̦̿é͓r͍̍ ̦̇t̝̄h̫̀e̅͜ ͎̕ỉ̻n̿͜t͐͜e̢̋r͓̂n̜̈ě̠ț̄ ͜b͚͂ỹ̖ ̤̋n̺̕o̢͗w̞̍!͛͜"͔̈́

“Yeah, but still! Not cool!”

Anti grumbled as they looked over the episodes they had recorded and Sean quickly checked the news on his phone. No superhero stuff around. Jackie would have texted him otherwise. Good. They could finally have a movie night in peace. Chase got popcorn. He came back wearing a very specific hat one of their friends had borrowed for a video and the corn. They groaned once they realized the reference.

“Dude! No references at the table!”

“But this isn’t a table!”

“We’re still eating! Man, why’d you have to put it into plastic bottles too?”

“To mess with you.”

“F͈̒ō̪r̢ ̇͜t͙̔h̨͝e̛̦ ̮͒l̲ȏ͓v̫̈e̛̺ ̺͂o̥̎f̠͆ ̰͛g̪̽o̧͆d̆͜-̬͝ ͎̀S̟̅H͇͑Ư͓T̬̄ ̙̑U̲̕P̥̀!͉̈́”

They all looked at him as he angrily stuffed some popcorn in his mouth. He’d ended up cutting the cap off with one of his knives. He put the dagger on the table as the theme song rolled. They still stared at him.

“W̘͊h͈̑ạ̎t͖̊?͈̐ ̃C̺̎h̞̉i̯l̙͒l̩͠ ̪̕t͈̉h͈̐e͍̚ ̭͝f͈͝u̺͗c͖̎k̡̈́ ́ͅo͝ͅu̧͒t̙͗.͇̇

Sean kept a close eye on his brother as they watched the show. He had some questions to ask later.

 

\---------

 

Marvin was camping out on the couch under his cape. Chase had gone back to his apartment next door.

Sean and Anti stared at each other.

“So how do you know about them?”

“Ǐ̘'̳̊m͑͜ ̳͆n̦͝o̲t͈͐ ͘͜ạ̓n͔̚ ͕̎i͑͜d̬͂i̳̾o͎͝ṱ̓.̞̑ ̢̽I̻̚ ̡́s̘̊n̟̾ọ͗o̞̓p̫̈́e̼̾d̓͜ ̺̍ỉ̤n̯͝t͎͊o͋͜ ͙̄y̧͘ỏ̺u̞̾r̡̅ ̰͒f̡̃i̥͌l̖̚e̻̚s̝̃.͙̎

“How’d you know the passcode?”

“Ÿ̯o̘̕u̗̎ ͓͐a̪̋n̡̎d͎̋ ̤͋I̡͘ ͍̈́h̠̾ḁ́v͜͝ĕ͖ ̪̀v̬̈́e͓̾r̰͋ȳ̨ ̮̆ś̮i͔͝m̫̏i͓͐l͉a̫̓r͔͠ ̮̽t̯̾a̜͛ṣ̚t̓͜ë̳́s̨̕ ͓̀ḯ̱n͍̿ ͂͜f̟͝o̝͘ô̝d̦͒.̼͛

He winced. Yeah, the COOKIES passcode was pretty obvious. He needed to change it.

“But why?” He shrugged.

C̢͝ṵ̐ř͈i͉o̲͝s̬͋i͍̿t̳̾y̺̍.̘͠ ̗̒Ỏ̼n̢̓e̛̯ ̫̒ò̤f̲̈ ̲̐t̥͑h̺̀ĕ̜ ͉͆d̲́r͍͑ḭ̕v̛̫i͓̎ṇ̓g̗̈́ ̞̎f̼͛o̠̿r͈̄c̤͘e̪͋s͇̀ ̭͂õ̘f͈͂ ̗n͇̐ȧ̖ẗ͜ũ̠r̖̀e̞͆.̞̐ ̠̅I͈ ͎̏c͈̓o͇̕u͔̐l̯̍d̮̏n̲̍'͙̐t̡͋ ̫̇ŕ̲ȇ͓s͙̉i̪͐s͎͆t͚͘.͍͘ ̪A̠̓n͇͗ḍ̈́ ͎̋a̤͋p̙͠p̝̂a̱͑r̻͑ē͈n̡̓t̨̛l͉̋y̟̑ ͈̓n̢̊e͓͛ȋ̞t̘̿h̼͑e̞̋r̡̐ ͓̽c͜͠õ͔u̙͠l̦̉ḋ͇ ̂y̗͒o͎͛u̟͑.̘

Curses. He ran his hand through his hair. “Okay. How much do you know.”

“N͎̓o͙͘ţ̃ ̨̉ṯ̅h̘̒a̮͑t̟̾ ̡̄m̜̈́u̪̾c̺͊h̞̍.̫ ̤̕H̟͒ö̡́n̝̿e͔̍s̝̿t͈͋ḽ̚y͇̐,̦̉ ̜̈́i̩̓t͓̏’̩̓s̜͒ ̲͑p͓r̟͝ẹ͝t̢̄ẗ̝y͎͑ ̦̚c̰̿ō͉o͍͂l̨͐.͖̎ ̮̈́Ĩ͕’̯̕m̖̈́ ̲̔j̈́e̝͋a͓̚l̠͛o̞̅ṳ̑s̗͒.̠̕ ̙̈́Ä̖́n͇̒y̼͑w͆͜ạ̊y̭̆,͕̇ ͕͋y͓̿o͓͝u̹͑ ͇̏c̱̄o̖̿n̞͘n͉ĕ̳c̭̊t̫̿e̘̒d̘̉ ̜̿w̯i̧͠t̺̏h̜͌ ̼̈́t͉͋h̠̾e̲͆ ̺̌ c͍͗h̖͂a̬͗r͉͝a̟̐c̼̋t̖͐e̩͐r̥̈́s͓̉ ̛̲f̝̿ř̬ö͉m͓͐ ͈̏U͙̍ṋ͋d͙̽é̱r̙̆t̢̄a̮͐ľ̨ḙ͊.̞̐ ̦̊T̨̕h͉̀e̼͒y͈ ̰̓l̼̈́i͚͌v̓ͅe̐͜ ͔͝i̦̅n͖̂ ̳̃ǎ̡n̳͑ ̛͙a̫͋l̩̈t̯e̠͝r̮͛n̺̽ả̘t͊͜e̡̛ ̣͗ů͓n̞̽i̡̽v̡̎ę̉ṟ̍ṡ̘ẹ͊ ͙͋o͈̍r̨̓ ̬̾s͍͆o͇̍m̬̑ḙ̾t͚͠h̟͗i̜͆n͈̋g̯͆ ̥̃w͖͗ḧ̪́e̹r̟̈ḙ͐ ̦́t͎̆h̙͝e̘̿y̛̞ ̗͐ḥ̐ā̝v̳̓èͅ  ̧̄c͉̓ō̘o̝͠l̥̓ ̯̑m̨̍a͎͐g̹͑i͕̅c̡̾ ͔͒a̪͘n͖̓d͍̚ ̦̑p̹͂ȩ̽o͓͠p̯͘l͔̃ȅ̹ ̭̎d̜̊o̅ͅn̼͂’͚̎t͓̔ ̻̍ạ̓c̙͝t̟̚į͂v̢̒ȩ̕ĺ͎y̯̿ ̪̽h̥͂ą̄t̼̃ë̦ ̩̌t̟̀h̤̑ḙ͝m̨͝ ̈́ͅo̲̿t̻́h̪͂e̤͆r̡͝ ̜͝t͇̓h͎̾å̩n͍͝ ̙̈́t̻͒h͈͒ẽ͎ ̠̑N̢̾M̘͠C͈͌.̳͊ ̘̈́N̮͌o̭͊t̠ ̜̈ȁ͜ ̮̑b͈̿ă̦d̢̑ ̘̈s̩̿i̪͐ţ̔u̙̎ȁ̻t̲̐i͚̕o̤̅n̼̋.̰̃ ̢͌D̪͛ĕ͈e͉̚  ̗̓i̬͗s̞͆ ͉́a͎͊ ̈́l̟̅o̖͝t̗̉ ̧̽l͛͜į̏k͍̃ĕ̻ ̛͖L̘̅o̺͘k̥̊i͍͝.̻̑ ̟̍B̘̉a̘͝ḋ̝ ̤̓w̪̓ṙ̢i͉̾t̬̂i̗n̪̈́g̢͒ ̦͆i̪͛f̺̒ ͓͌y̝ó̰u̡͘ ͖͆g̪̓e̹ț͋ ̙̈w͚̓ẖ̊a̜͠t̡͌ ͈̈́I͖͆ ̞̿m̑͜e̜͘a͚n͓̚.̢̽”̲̕ ̠́He winked at you. Sean looked confused.

“I do not.”

“T̗͘h̟̔a̱̋t̢̽’̥̿s̮̾ ͉̽n̖͠o͓̓t̗̂ ͇̔i͎̿m̛͚p͍͐ö̟́r̫͊t͙͝ḁ͗n͍͛t̺̋.̡̂ ̃A̺̓n̬̉y͇͒w̼̉a͚͝ẏ͙,͛͜ ̦̎y̗͘ö̻́ṳ͘ ̖͝h̺̅â̞v͈̍e̳̓ ̣̅â̘ ̛̭p̮̕r̼̋e̙͌ṱ͐t͈̿y̘̓ ͍̈́s̗͠w̤̄e̓ͅe̘̍t̺̓ ͍͆g̻̈́i͖͠ǧ̻.̧͝ ͍̏A͔͐l̟̔m̞̀o̘̒s͖͑t̒͜ ͉͂n͎̂o̞͗b͔̕o͙͠d͈̋y̢̐ ̥̽k͋ͅn̺̾o̬̓w̖̽s̗̽ ̨͝w͎̽h̼̽o̟͋ ͙̒y̯͠õ͍u̗̔ ̺̒a̛̼r̺̽e̦̊,̨̇ ̳͐t̫̋ḧ͖́e̞̐ ̬̿t̯̒i̲͐m̥͒e̡̋l̪̕ȋ̳n̡͝ě͉s̭̈́ ̡͊ả̫r̙̓e̠̍n̰̎’̰̆t͕̅ ̧̓ẗ̳́ő͓o͚̐ ̫m̹͐ë̠́s̡͑s͎̑e̩̊d̫̑ ̹͊ù͔p͉̕,̲̚ ͔̐ḁ͊n̛̘d̢̀ ̟̋n̺͌ơ̤b̝́o̗͒d͔̎y̠̎’̢͠s͉̽ ̳̋å̡č̗t̙̒ĭ̘ṽ͔e̝̓l̥̇ÿ͇́ ̤͋t̤͛r̞͒i̗̍e̮͘d̤͒ ̫̾t̟̚ơ͙ ̝k̪͋i̩̔l̍ͅl̲̉ ̬͌y̜͛o̿ͅu̘̿.͚̆”̮̈́

“Gee. Thanks.”

“S̟͊ó͍ ͇̓ḱ͔e̺̊e̜̍p̝̌ ͇̂d͔o̱͒i̝̚n̰̈́ĝ̯ ̣̾w̠̎ḥ̋a̺t͍͛ ̐͜y̠̐o̺̐u̲͝’̠̕ṙ̲e̖̋ ̥̄d̝̾o̻̓i̠͒n͚̈́g̬͂.̼̈́ ̗̆D̲̎o̻͝n̹͊’̃ͅṯ̄ ̕͜f̞͑u̱͘c̮̉k̛̮ ̡̽í̡t̻̓ ̩̊u͖͋p̣.̳͂-G̹̽ó̪ọ̈́d̳͝n̢̓ḯ̩ģ͌h̬̏ṯ͛.̳͊ He went into his room.

Sean sighed as he opened the game. He had some news to tell. He just hoped it was daytime there.

 

\---------

 

Borealis was playing the violin on the rooftop. She didn’t know why she did so, but she often felt a compulsion to be close to the stars and let the music ring.

Then she heard the drops of rain falling from the sky. She swiftly climbed down the roof and slipped into the house. She eyed her arms. They were slightly damaged from the raindrops, but overall, she wasn’t too badly injured for getting caught in the rain. Her violin was fine too. She lit up one of her hands brightly and evaporated the drops with her flames. It was good she hadn’t been caught put there fully. That would have been bad; even though fire elementals didn’t feel the pain, prolonged exposure would have been deadly.

Being made of fire was rather annoying in wet weather to say the least. Then she looked out of the window. The white flakes surprised her.

It was snow.

The others would be happy. She had to grab a thicker jacket the next time she went out.

How the heck did Grillby live in Snowdin?

Oh yeah. He wore a tophat and fancy thick cloak when he was outside. How could she forget? He was quite dapper. He and Gaster must have very similar shopping habits. She had to get something. Maybe leather or a hoodie. Maybe black. It went with everything. She saw a figure at the door. She recognized it and opened the door.

“Heya Gaster. Here so late?”

“Hello fiery one. And yes- there’s an issue at the Lab- some tests to be done and such. Is Sans still awake?”

“Maybe. He tends to stay up until now reading and such. I’ll look in the Living room. Would you like some tea?”

“No thank you. I have to leave soon, but the offer is appreciated.”

“Okay. Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

She left the room. She saw Sans laying half-awake on the couch.

“Hey Sans?”

“mnmh?”

“Gaster needs you for something at the Lab. He’s at the door.”

“hold up…” He got up slowly, then blinked a few times. His eyelights brightened. Yay. He was awake. He teleported to the hallway. “heya. what’s up?”

“There are a few things I have to talk to you about at the Lab. Sorry about waking you up.”

“no prob dad. welp, shall we?”

They teleported away. Borealis went back to bed. She had some work to do in the morning, you know, apply for a job and such. Maybe she could work at Muffet’s.

 

\--------

 

Gaster and Sans were looking at the security feed. “the only song i can think of is déjà vu.”

“Likewise.” They observed the recordings. Mostly they were looking for whom to blame for Dee’s… breakdown. They kept watch on the cell, watching for the moments between the illusions. They were surprised they showed on camera. Then they saw the moment they were looking for. When Logan and Dee were talking, and Logan left the room.

 

_{Hey, why’d you do that?}_

Dee was sitting on the floor, staring at the monster across the room that they couldn’t see.

 _{You afraid of something?}_ He tilted his head, smiling. _{Jealous?}_

There were a few moments of silence through the cameras.

 _{Shut up prisoner.}_ The distinctive monster’s voice cut through the air. The recording ended.

 

That was their starting point. They had to talk to Harold tomorrow. Then Gaster remembered his first point he meant to cover. “Oh! Sans, you know those late-night training sessions I’d always drag you out to?”

“man, how could i forget?”

“Well, I took Dee out to one as an experiment. You and I both know he needs to refine his powers. He’s like a coke bottle filled with mentos.”

“odd, but accurate. continue?”

“Well, we started with a warm-up. Something he’d done before. He shifted to one of his family members. Simple enough. But then we branched out. We tried a multitude of things, from shifting to a monster to another human. He was able to turn into choice humans, but not monsters at all without splitting headaches. We also had improvement in the illusion department-“

“woah woah woah doc. how much did you do?”

“We were only out for half an hour or so. Maybe forty-five minutes. There was rapid progress. Anyway, he managed to conjure a semi-solid magical weapon. It was a replica of Roman’s sword, but still impressive regardless. He was able to hypnotize me, and, this is no small feat, he was able to create a butterfly Sans. A butterfly.”

“okay? i don’t get the significance-“

“A real butterfly Sans. It was alive.”

“holy shit.”

“Yes! Granted, he almost collapsed from the sheer mental energy involved, but with some practice there are large leaps this could make! Science and Magic just flipped on their heads!”

“...they did that a while ago doc. we’ve done all of this in about a six-month period. it’s pretty extreme.”

“Not the point! The fact is that he has as much potential, just like Roman, as your brother! Both loose cannons, the two of them!”

“okay… what comes next?”

“Oh, that’s obvious! We train them. They will need it before dire consequences arise.”

“that’s no ominous at all.”

“Don’t fret! Everything will be fine.” There was a knock at the door. They opened it. Somehow, Dee stood there.

“Okay. Hi Sans. But something happened that you might want to hear.”

They followed the teenager to his cell.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> Sorry about the late upload- my posting schedule has hit the fan recently and I'm trying to get one set in place. I'll try to maintain the Sunday posts, but the ones that usually are on Wednesdays might mostly end up being posted on Thursdays because of my school schedule this semester. 
> 
> Anyway... I hope you enjoyed! I love posting these, they really make my day. If anyone has any ideas for things they want to see with these characters feel free to write them in the comments- I need sequel ideas. Thank you for reading and have a great day! Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist! 
> 
> Oh! I almost forgot! Lux tenebras discute, the spell Marvin used earlier to get the power back on, means light to dispel the darkness! Marvin's magic system is both runic and language based, but mostly Nordic runes and Latin. I had a lot of fun writing that, and his magic will play more into the plot later!


	57. Mr. Sandman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of anxiety in this chapter! I tend to write anxiety into a lot of chapters, but I figured I should let you know in case you wanted a heads-up or something! Stay safe!

They stood there, looking at The Player.

“so your brother knows about us?”

~~Unfortunately.~~

“Is he trustworthy?”

~~He can keep a secret until he dies. He just has to believe it’s worth the trouble. He’s rather… curious about you all, so I think he will keep the secret if I don’t fuck anything up. His words, not mine.~~

“Sounds like an interesting character.”

~~Y͞es̷ ҉I a̧m̛!~~

~~Anti, you scared the living shit out of me! Why are you in my studio?~~

~~B̶e͏c̛au҉se I͝ can͢ y͠ơu̷ ̢id͘iot.~~ ~~~~

~~Fair enough. But yes, He’s trustworthy.~~

~~T̨҉h͡͡a̧҉͡n͠k̵s̶͏!͞ ͞I̛’̧̧m̨͟͞ ͡g̨o̵n̶ņ̡҉a̧ ͞g̴̵͠o̵ ͝e̷̛̕a̢t͏̵ a̛ ҉͜c̶͜͞oǫk͘i̵̛̕e̡.̡͡~~ ~~~~

There was the sound of soft footsteps, then a door closing. There were a few seconds of silence.

“So how did you get out of your room?”

“Oh, I didn’t.” They looked towards the cell, where the teen still sat. “I just made my hand corporeal enough to be able to create sound. It was all an illusion, don’t worry.”

“am i tripping or is this whole thing screaming star trek?”

They stared at him.

“what? my brain is a strange place.”

“Oh, Sans, we all knew that.”

“thanks.”

~~I have to say though, that power is so freaking cool.~~

“Thank you.” He conjured a mug of tea and drank from it for comedic effect. It faded into magic soon after though. Stupid non-permanent items.

They all looked at each other. “anyone want to play a game of chess? i know i’m not getting to sleep.”

“Sure.”

 

 

\----------

 

 

Roman was walking around the house. He couldn’t sleep and had to check that the sounds around the house weren’t going to eat him or something. It was stupid, but whatever.

Then he heard a sound coming from Virgil’s room. He cautiously went up the stairs and opened the door. “Virge? You okay?” There was no answer, or a sign of Virgil. He saw that the light to his twin’s bathroom was on. He walked over quietly. “Virgil? Is anything wrong?” He heard muffled sniffling, as if it was trying to be quieted by a sleeve. He opened it cautiously, then saw a hyperventilating teen curled up in the bathtub. He was rocking back and forth, eying Roman in fear. “Oh, Virge….” He walked out of the room quickly and grabbed one of the heavier blankets strewn around the bed.

He approached his twin slowly. “Can I put this around you?” You took the slight, jerky nod as a yes and carefully wrapped it around his shoulders. “Okay…. it’s okay…. you’re okay….. “ He inched his hand closer, looking for approval. Another panicked nod. He rubbed his brother’s back while whispering to him. “Okay…. let’s breathe. In for four seconds, hold for seven.” He rubbed as they did the motions together. “In for one, two, three, four…. Now hold; one, two, three, four….” He mimicked the actions as his brother shakily tried to comply despite the tears.

Eventually he got his brother breathing steadily. He grabbed some toilet paper to wipe Virgil’s eyes, where his makeup was running down his face. “Okay hon. Everything’s okay. Now why are you in the bathtub?” Virgil sent him a droll stare. Obvious answer. Anxiety attack. He amended himself. “Is there anything I can do to help Hot Topic?” Virgil shook his head, letting out a watery sigh. He shifted, and Virgil clung to his robe, whimpering. “I’m not leaving hon. Don’t worry. I’m just shifting because my knees hurt. Can you move?” There was a shake of the head. He wrapped the blanket around him more securely. “Can I get you some water?”

Virgil motioned to the glass by the sink. He filled it and returned quickly. “Here you go Virge. Can I get you any food?” Another head shake. Virgil looked at his hands- they were too shaky to sign. He breathed until they were stable enough. He obviously didn’t trust his voice.

[You’re talking like Remy.] Roman blinked a few times.

“Merlin’s beard! Who would’ve thought that would happen to a prince!” They both lapsed into smiles and soft giggles. Speak of the devil. Remy walked in, holding some Starbucks. Virgil looked over at the figure in the doorway quickly. Rem spoke softly.

“Heya hons. Thought I heard something in here. I have a message to deliver to Sans, so I’m heading to the Lab, but I got you some of these from Muffet’s. Hope you guys feel better.” He took a package out of his jacket and slid them over to them as to not scare Virgil. He walked out of the room. Roman took out his phone.

“Do you want to watch some videos with me?”

“…sure. Maybe some of Thomas’s? Not the Accepting Anxiety ones though. Roman’s scream and all.”

“Okay! Maybe the tweet tunes? Music seems to help you, so maybe this will too?”

“…sure. Bring it Princey.” They ate the golden-dusted cookies Remy had brought them and soon fell asleep in the bathroom. Not the oddest place they had fallen asleep in before.

 

\--------

 

Remy walked into the Lab, noticing that very few people were around. Sure, it was like three AM, but still. He sipped his tea, grateful for the caffeine. He could stay awake without it, but he became irritable and unpredictable, so he chose to stay with the jitters that the drinks provided and some decent functionality. It cost a bit, but he was able to get the workers discount at Muffet’s, so he went to Starbucks less and less. Yesterday someone even had to ask for his name to put on the cup. Times had certainly changed.

He walked down to their offices, then heard their voices coming from where Dee was located. Oh. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to see his brother. They hadn’t talked since Dee was hiding, and he wasn’t sure how he felt, not just what his brother felt.

Man, with all of his worrying he’d turn into Virgil. He clenched his fist and summoned up his courage. He knocked on the door twice before pushing it open. He was met with stares from four people. Oh stars… he looked at all of them, and they looked back.

~~Heya!~~

“Um… hi. I was wondering if I could talk to you guys, but if you’re busy I can come back later….” He made to close the door. A bone held it open. He tried experimentally, then came back into the room. He sipped from his drink for something to do.

~~Well, I have some things to do for work, and some cookies to eat, so I’ll see you all in a few days. Have a good one!~~

Then the Player never was. Sans sent a finger gun at Dee. “see ya later nerd.” He teleported away. You noticed him unstiffen slightly, face crinkled in confusion.

“But Logan’s the nerd- nevermind. I’m getting some sleep Doc. See you tomorrow as usual- wow. Why the heck are you awake at three AM Rem?”

“Long story. I’ll see you in the hallway Doc. It didn’t really matter who I talked to. You both have access to the same information, so it’s all cool if Sans wanted to get some sleep.” He and Gaster left the room, Gaster putting a green glowing barrier back up afterwards. They went back into his office. He settled back into a comfy looking chair. Remy set down his drink.

“So what did you wish to talk to me about?”

He took in a deep breath, then made a motion with one of his hands, similar to Dee’s twisting motion he made with his wrist. He cupped his other hand underneath it, and a fine gold glittering sand poured into it from his other hand. It was definitely magic for sure- but what was it?

“Are magic trait discombobulations hereditary?” He rubbed his hands together and the sand disappeared. Gaster looked at him heavily, then picked up his phone. He dialed a number.

“Hey C. Sorry about how early it is. Do you mind coming to the Lab? I’m so sorry about this.”

He hung up the phone. “So, Sandman. When did this come about?”

Remy sighed, wiping the last remains of the glittery flecks off of his jeans.

“So it all started last weekend…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally listened to Mr. Sandman while writing this.   
> I listen to that a lot while writing Remy. Huh.   
> Anyway.... I actually posted on a Wednesday for once! Woohoo! I hope you enjoyed it, sorry for the little cliffhanger! Thank you for reading, I hope you all have a great day!
> 
> Speaking of which- not really, I just like that segway-, I was looking at some of my other works, and I think my strictly marvel one has surpassed this one in popularity. It's only eleven chapters and I thought of it on a plane! Weird!


	58. Checkmate!

Corsiva and Gaster stared at him as he finished his story. “….and I noticed before I came here that Roman and Virgil were up, so I sprinkled some of the dust on some of Muffet’s cookies that I gave them so they could actually get some sleep. Then I came here.”

Corsiva was ruffling through some papers. “According to these papers there have been signs of some trait imbalance inheritance. Why do you believe you have an imbalance?” He stared at her.

“Isn’t that the only logical explanation? It’s all I have at least.” His phone rang. He picked it up. It was an unknown number. Logan’s voice drifted out of it like he was reading from a teleprompter.

{I heard you said something so stupid that the whole universe facepalmed at the same time. Pray tell, what did you say?} He sighed and stared at Gaster.

“How long have you had that set up?” He hung up the phone and returned it to his pocket.

“I had Logan record it the second time I met with him. He has the greatest voice for it. But that’s not important. Just because there is only one answer discovered, that does by no means mean that that is the only answer out there.” He rubbed his temples.

“Don’t pull a Logan Doc. Please. I know that wasn’t smart hon. But what’s with the Sandman-esque powers?” He took out his phone to record it in case he needed Logan to clarify some terms.

“There are many theories. There is the trait imbalance, which is the most likely and plays into several of my theories about magic inheritance, and a few more such as a possible gene mutation or possibly something to do with how one’s personality shapes one’s magic as one develops- they are all likely in terms of relation to each other. You are all in a developmental stage of your life, which would make sense for the magic development theory. A monster’s magic is present in the toddler stage of development, and they go through a rapid transition as they develop and train their abilities. There are obvious parallels connecting the two species.

As for the trait imbalance, we have already covered that it is a rare magical imbalance within one’s magical construct. This can present itself in one’s personality, and is inherently present in one’s magic in varying degrees. We have already discussed Dee, which is an extreme case of such magic differentiation. This shows that these individuals can manifest unknown or unheard of magic, which is very powerful and volatile in the wrong hands. I have many theories, such as the relative strength and limits of such capabilities, but that is for another time. If you have this imbalance, this could be a link in my hereditary theory, which means that genetically in humans this ability to use magic could be a gene passed down, with the imbalance as a mutation. Does this make sense?”

“So far. Logan has been rubbing off on me. Continue hon. Hope you don’t mind if I record this.”

“Feel free.”

“Cool. So how do we check if I have a trait imbalance? Do you have enough data already or do we need to do a scan of some kind?”

“The data we’ve gathered already does seem to point in that direction, but it may be best to preform another check or test your abilities… in the ring, so to speak. ‘Dings?”

“The data you’ve presented seems likely. As for the scans….” He slid over to his computer and typed frantically. He opened a picture that looked familiar to those heat-detecting thermal camera feeds, but it looked different- you realized it was a magic feed. Cool. Corsiva moved the mouse over some demographics and read some complex-looking algorithms.

“It does look likely…. Yes. See there?” She pointed a finger at a chart of some kind consisting of different colours. It looked like a bunch of paint to him, but Gaster made a noise of realization.

“The colours are muddled.”

“Yes.” She pointed to a specific spot- yellow and red, along with a few other colours, were spiraled together in a patch, the ends blending into one another- creating a sort of golden colour where the ends overlapped.

“So the gold colour is the mutation? Imbalance doesn’t seem to be the right title for it then.”

“No, unfortunately it really isn’t. Magic Trait Discoloration is a different thing entirely, and there are no other names that haven’t been ascribed to other trait mutations. Shame, but we have to deal with it.”

“Huh. So is that golden stuff a different color on Dee?”

“Yes. It’s a shiny dark green-ish yellow. Do you know your brother’s name?”

“Of course. Our immediate family knows it. I just use his title. I can’t really remember his real name in detail anymore. Dee fits him better, don’t you think?”

“I can’t say that without something to compare it to, now can I?”

“Fair enough hon.” He suddenly felt the caffeine in his system ebb away. “Now if you will excuse me, I need to get to bed or I will fall over on your office floor. Living on coffee has its drawbacks after all. Thanks for the help. I have some Spanish homework to do too.” He got up only to fall on his face. He heard a few snickers as his SOUL turned blue and he was lifted to his feet. Corsiva held out her elbow with a smirk on her face.

“To your house?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

They disappeared in a flash of blue light.

 

\---------

 

So Remy, Dee, and Roman spoke Spanish, if only a little? He really needed to learn some.

This was another one of those times where he was jealous of his wife’s linguistic abilities.

They seemed more and more frequent as the time wore on….

But hey. He was super good at chess. Sans still couldn’t beat him yet.

That reminds him… he needs to play with Logan.

He put that on his to-do list.

 

 

\-------------

 

 

Logan looked at Gaster. “Chess?”

“Yes. I figured you would find an appreciation for it with your fascination for special and strategic warfare.” They sat next to the office chess board. Of course they had an office chess board, why wouldn’t they?

“I will attempt this endeavor. I’ve played quite a bit, but honestly I’m nothing against Virgil. I don’t know how he does it.”

Gaster raised his brows. “Oh really? He moved a pawn.

“Yep. He’s also rather good at the violin. And singing, but he will deny it to the ends of the earth. Along with the fact that he can do Irish step dance. The only way I know this is because I heard him sing and dance to some YouTube videos in the backyard once while Roman was out sword fighting with Thomas and Patton. I was doing some research on the Norse Creation Myth. Fascinating stuff, ancient mythology.” He moved a knight. Gaster inwardly raised a brow as he moved a piece.

“So what else do you do that I don’t know about?”

“I can battle anyone lyrically and make a mean soufflé. As for the others, Roman can swordfight like the best of them and remember Disney lyrics like they’re oxygen, Patton can bake anything but soufflés and can connect with anyone in an instant after careful observation, Remy can distinguish any flavor you put in from of him, and Dee can mimic anyone or anything he’s heard once or twice. Thomas can eat insane amounts of pizza and make really good videos. It sounds pale in comparison to the rest of us, but you need to watch some of them. He’s created quite the online community.”

“Intriguing.” They continued to play. “I’m assuming that you write poetry based on the battle raps?”

“Not quite. I can say my mind, but I am not very good at writing it down. Virgil and Patton can, but I simply do not have the ability. I can recollect information easily, which is helpful in scholarly situations, but not very helpful in emotional human interaction. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect.”

“Interesting. Since you have answered all of my questions, you may ask me a few if you would wish.”

“Thank you.” He thought for a second. “Did you live before the War?”

“Yes. I was rather young when the Barrier was put up- maybe sixty? Sixty-six I believe.”

“Wow. That is considered on the late end of middle aged for most humans. What is the life span of a monster?” He moved a piece. Gaster captured one of Logan’s.

“It depends on the Monster. Normal monsters, such as Molsmals, Whimsums, most Spiders, Temmies, and the like live around three-hundred years or less, maybe six hundred at the most. Muffet has lived a long life and will probably live a very long one, maybe one thousand or so. Flame elementals, along with most other elementals, live around one thousand. Grillby is an exception, most likely going to live around three or four thousand, maybe five-thousand. We do not know quite why, but honestly it doesn’t affect us that much so it doesn’t really matter that much. Boss Monsters like Toriel and Asgore live up to ten or twenty thousand years, but they are cursed with immortality because of the death of their son. Skeletons are the ones who vary the most, but Sans, Papyrus, Corsiva and I will live about as long as a Boss monster. Ghost Monsters are basically immortal unless they chose to become fully corporeal, where they die with the destruction of their vessel if they do not leave it before they get destroyed. Water Monsters and Reptilians such as Undyne and Alphys have very similar life spans, about two thousand years or so. I am about one thousand years old, aged about 1366. Papyrus is 205, and Sans is 256. Corsiva is 983. We were trapped Underground for around one thousand years give or take.”

“One Thousand?! That…. that’s a lot of time without the basic necessities of human life. Sun, space, and more.”

 “You’re telling me Logan. Checkmate.” He looked at the board. Galileo’s telescope. He was so close to winning. He knocked over the king and stood.

“It was enjoyable playing a game with you. Maybe we could communicate like this sometime? The information conveyed was rather interesting.”

“Of course. Now if you will excuse me, I must check on your cousin. Have a great day if I do not see you before then.”

“You too Doc. I’ll continue running those tests.”

“Thank you.”

They parted ways.

 

\--------

 

Gaster walked up to Dee’s cell, where he was mimicking the sound of a car alarm to annoy some interns. He got up as he approached. “Heya Doc. How ya doing?” His smile seemed off, but he didn’t put much thought into it. He had just barged right into his room after all.

“Not too badly. Please refrain from pestering the interns however. If you must, mimic the sound of crickets or the wind. It’s rather relaxing to the humans, and the monsters haven’t heard those noises in some time.”

“Sure thing. Like this?”

He chirped like a cricket. Then make the sounds of trees rustling in the wind.

“Perfect. How does one learn to do that?”

“Practice and the Internet. Practice and observation works the best, along with a recording device. Took me a few years to be able to do it without the microphone, but hey. Hobbies can be enjoyable.”

“To each his own. I was playing a game of chess with Logan, and I-“

“You have to play one with Virgil one of these days. I can play, but he’s rather interesting to talk to while you do it.”

“I’m still in the mood for a game. Do you wish to play one?”

“Sure, if that is what you’re offering. I prefer Monopoly, but I’m just warning you now. I get really competitive and manipulative when I play games. Just to warn you, so feel free to stop at any time. I’m not that good anyway.”

“That’s fine. I wanted to hear about the others and yourself. It was interesting conversing with Logan, so shall we Mr. Sanders?”

Dee summoned a board. “If it starts to fall apart tell me, but I don’t think it will last long enough for that to be a problem.”

“Will do.” They began to play in silence. Soon Dee’s eye began to shine softly as he maintained the illusion. He made the pieces solid when they had to be, but made it non-corporeal when they were stationary. It saved some energy.

Dee wasn’t that bad at the game. He even managed to capture one of his rooks. But he quickly had the piece cornered.

“Well that’s not a shame. Bad- I mean, good game Doc.” He shook his head slightly as the image evaporated. “Sorry. Great game. As you can see, manipulative. You do not want to play a board game with me. Anyway, what did you wish to discuss? That was a pretty quiet game.”

“Nothing really. Just wanted to experience.” The skeleton stood up. “Good game Mr. Sanders. See you tonight for your training.”

“See you Doc.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a lovely day and thank you for reading!


	59. Dark Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehehehehehehe~ They're h̵͓e̸̯̔r̴̮̈́e̶̒͜!

Alex and Emi were at Muffet’s. Remy was working, as usual, and they were drawing and watching Game Theory. Well, Game Theory, Film Theory and Jacksepticeye. That accent seemed familiar….

Emi had an epiphany. “Hey ‘Lex?”

“’Lex?”

They froze. “Uhhh… do you not like it?”

“Nah fam, it’s cute. What’cha thinking hon?”

“Well, I was thinking that The Player sounded a lot like Jacksepticeye.”

Alex thought about it. “Well holy crudmuffins. He does sound like that.”

“And his sprite looks like Anti.”

“Okay…. I have a Matpat worthy theory.”

“Go on.”

“What if The Player is Sean? Jack? Anyway, Jacksepticeye? He played Undertale, you know, our story as a game or whatever it is. Who knows. Sure, it doesn’t match up perfectly with the playthrough he did on YouTube, but what if this is just another SAVE FILE that he did in his own time?”

“Well, it sounds plausible. A stretch to be sure, but within the realm of possibility.”

“You guys didn’t realize that he was Sean before now?” They looked at Remy incredulously as he handed them their drinks. 

“…What?”

“Wait…. One of my theories was actually right for once?”

“Yaas queen.” He sprinkled on a pinch of golden glitter, which seemed very Remy. “You guys okay? You seem very tired.”

“Eh, you know the drill. Insomnia and a desire for social interaction.”

“Well drink these quick and get home to bed okay? Don’t turn into me honey. Trust me. I stay up usually like 20 hours a day, so try to get some rest soon, gucci?”

“Yes Mom.” They smiled at him as he laughed and walked away to clean up at the end of his shift. It was eleven after all. They soon found themselves getting drowsy after they finished their drinks. They waved a goodbye and walked home.

 

\--------

 

Remy walked over to the Lab after his shift. Doctor Gaster said he wanted to try training tonight, which was fine by him. He was done with work and not tired yet. He sipped his Muffet’s coffee. It was so good.

He hoped he hadn’t gone too far with the dust on their drinks. It wasn’t too much, and it was given to them with love, so it should be okay, right? He’d have to ask them the next time they saw them.

He walked into Gaster’s office, where the skeleton was drinking coffee. He raised a brow. “Long night Doc?”

“Unfortunately. Maybe that powder of yours will do some good. Shall we? Your brother is already there. Prepare for a bit of a chill.” They teleported away in a sweep of blue light.

He didn’t know Dee was supposed to be there. Well then. He hoped nothing bad would happen. They arrived in Snowdin, where Dee sat waiting, a butterfly crown fluttering on his head. “Hello.”

“Hey hon. Nice butterflies. They match your jacket.”

“Why thank you. Shall we Sandman? I heard about this powder of yours. I am rather intrigued.” One butterfly flew over to him and landed on his cheek before fluttering off.

“To be honest, so am I. Why are you out here?”

“Mr. Sanders and I just finished our training for the night. He has been improving rapidly for the past week, and the crown is the latest of his endeavors. The insects seen to like him.”

“I don’t know why, but whatever.”

“I’d tap that.”

They collapsed into giggles while Gaster looked on nonplussed. “ANYway... Let us begin with a warmup Remy. Conjure some dust.”

He clasped one of his hands into a fist like he did before, then opened it, the dust glittering inside. He showed it to the skeleton.

“Good. Now try SOUL control.” He was apprehensive. He could move stuff, but SOUL control? He hadn’t tried that before. He moved his hand like he’d seen Sans do it. Nothing happened.

“This may sound stupid, but how would one try doing that?”

Gaster mimed his words, not seeming annoyed in the slightest. “Bend your will around the SOUL. Manipulate the way the world interacts with it and move it to your will.” He brought down his hand, and he felt a great weight settle on his chest. Gaster lifted his hand, and it disappeared.

He tried. He lifted his hand towards Gaster, imagining the forces that surrounded the SOUL. He brought his hand down, trying to bend them with his will. Nothing. He wasn’t surprised. Then he had an idea. He tried moving him like he would an object. He rose into the air a few feet. He noticed that the Monster’s SOUL didn’t turn blue however. He just seemed to manipulate the gravity around him as a being, not as an individual. This was complicated.

“Not quite what I meant, but an impressive first effort. Would you mind putting me down?” He blinked and quickly lowered the scientist.

“Sorry Doc.”

“That is quite all right. Now Mr. Sanders, if you wouldn’t mind standing here-“ He motioned to the bored looking Dee, who got up and stood at the spot he was directed to, the butterflies fluttering around him. He waved them away, and they fluttered towards the Ruins. “Good. Now, Remy, if you would try testing your powder-.”

“Wait- what? On Dee? Why?”

Gaster sighed, pinching the bridge of where his nose would be if he had one. “To experiment the extent of that powder of yours, we will have to test it on someone. Your brother is a perfect contender.”

“I have an idea then Doc.~” Remy has a Dee-like smirk on his face. “Why don’t we teleport to your office and you can see the effects in a more comfortable environment? Besides…” He and Dee grinned at the same time, tilting their heads in his direction.

“It’d be fun!~” Gaster blinked a few times.

“This is why twins are in horror movies. Move to it the both of you.”

They relaxed into their default positions, frowning slightly. “Fine.”

“Good. Now Mr. Sanders-“ He was broken off by a loud barking noise as a small white Pomeranian plowed into him, knocking him clean off of his feet and driving him six feet into the opposite direction. “CAN SOMEONE GET THIS BLASTED DOG OFF OF ME?!” Remy ran towards the energetic dog and clapped his hands, quite like he was getting rid of flour or clapping two erasers together. A great shimmering cloud of golden dust surrounded the three of them, and the dog fell to the ground, fast asleep. Gaster experimentally lowered his scarf from his face.

“Thank you. That seems to prove effective. Now as I was saying-“ Remy tried teleporting behind his brother, which somehow worked, and repeated the motion, causing Dee to slump into his brother’s waiting arms- fast asleep in a flash.

“Did that accomplish the objective esqueleto?” Remy seemed slightly annoyed, but that just could be because of the result.

“Yes. Now if you wouldn’t mind staying here……” Gaster hefted the human onto his shoulder with ease and teleported away. He returned promptly, holding a cup of coffee. “My apologies for the delay. That dust of yours had some residual effects, even if I had some protection against it.”

“No problem.”

The two of them stood awkwardly. Gaster took a sip from his coffee. “So. Remy. Mr. Sanders and I-“

“Why do you call him Mr. Sanders? I mean- that is our last name- our dad uses his married name, but why don’t you call Dee... Dee?”

“Simple. His title is one I use for respect.” He sipped his drink again.

“But didn’t he try to steal from you and the Lab? He tried to fight you-“

“Yet he impressed me. Not many manage to do that. He saved my son’s life, realized the error of his ways, and has become proficient in his studies in a rapid amount of time. Occam’s’ Razor my friend. Simplify your thought process.”

He stood there dumbfounded. Didn’t people like complexity? Wasn’t that what society was built on? People outsmarting others, even if it was just the way they phrased their ideas? “You confuse me.”

“I confuse a lot of people Remy. Grab a number. In the meantime, let me get psychological on you.” He sat on the snow, which, oddly, was not wet in the slightest. It was cold, but not wet. Odd. Magic was odd. “What are your dreams?”

“Excuse me?”

“Exactly what I said. What are your dreams?”

“I mean- I haven’t had one in a while? I usually stay up too much to be able to dream. I sleep like a rock hon.”

“Try Remy. What were the details of your last dream?”

He racked his brain sheepishly. He didn’t want to do this, but he had to, so he’d do it. “Uh- I think I was buying earrings as a gift for someone and that I bought a broken ring instead? That was a weird one. Super short too.”

“When was this?”

“Not too long after my disagreement with Dee. You know- after he was imprisoned.”

“Hmm. Well, the buying of the earrings represents a desire to gain acceptance or affection, and the ring being broken represents the breaking of a relationship. Together I would get the assumption that you were trying to gain acceptance from a person close to you and that the attempt led to a broken relationship with said person. That person being Mr. Sanders, of course.”

“You- I’m not sure whether to be impressed or angry.”

“I get that a lot Remy. Well, are there things you can do to try to strengthen that relationship?”

“Pardon me?”

“Well, it seems you are at a good start. Mr. Sanders doesn’t seem to be holding anything against you, judging from the placement that the butterfly took when it flew towards you. They seem to be emotionally linked to him. The butterfly representing his transformation and the placement meaning a sign of affection.”

“Wait- what? You got all of that from a simple interaction? That is ridiculous.”

“I get that a lot too. But there are perks to being a thousand-old monster. You learn to read people early on.”

“You are too good at your job.”

“I- that’s a new one. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome hon.”

“Why do you call people hon?”

“Because I respect them enough to care for them.”

“You are so your cousin.”

 

\-----------

 

 

Virgil, Roman, Thomas, and Patton were watching a Disney movie with their uncle after he came home from work.

“How was your day Picani?”

“Not too bad kiddo! How about yourself?”

“I’ve been worse! Remy and Dee are either working at Muffet’s or training with Doctor Gaster- Remy will get back in an hour or so at the earliest.”

“Thanks Pat!” He ruffled his nephew’s hair. Virgil curled up a bit more at the end of the couch. “You okay Virgil? You seem more stressed than Pearl.”

“I’m fine.” The clipped answer raised a few eyebrows, but he let it go as they watched the movie. He noticed it was Big Hero 6. He wondered why Logan wasn’t here- it was one of the movies Logan liked. Then he looked at the clock and realized Logan was the only sane one.

“Why are all of you awake? It’s past eleven.”

“It’s Disney! Only Sleeping Beauty could sleep now!”

“I only came down to say hi. I’m going to bed soon kiddo, don’t worry.” Thomas nodded in agreement.

“I don’t sleep.” Virgil looked anxious as he heard a noise on the doorstep. He lifted up the heavy book he was reading as the lights flickered slightly. Roman paused the movie and set down the popcorn bowl.

The lights flickered again and Virgil was across the room faster than one could blink, hefting the book and reaching slowly for Roman’s sword, which lay near the hall table. The lights flickered again, and the noise came from the door again. Roman summoned some swords and silently placed them in his family members’ hands.

The door shuddered, then slammed open. A figure stood there, calmly surveying the group before him. He tilted his head to the side, adjusting his collar.

|Well isn’t this delightful. A gay little quintet.| His voice crawled up one's back, the high and low tones embedded in it rattling around the brain and setting your nerves on fire.

Logan ran down the stairs. His eyes widened. “What the heck?!”

The figure smiled, his blue and red form glitching. |Wil-|

A pink-mustached man in suspenders plowed into the man, almost knocking him over. “You called?” He was holding a gun- more specifically an old-looking revolver. Virgil had his eyes locked on it. The man smiled crazily as the one in the suit made a noise of exasperation and smacked him upside the head. The one in pink whined and looked at the other in surprise.

|What did I tell you about interrupting?| He was about to chew the other out when The Player appeared in the living room. He saw the figures in the doorway and his eyes widened.

~~Nope.~~

He disappeared. The figures in the doorway were too busy to have noticed him.

Well fuck. This was bad if The Player didn’t want to get into it. A man in a fake crown and a bad king costume poked his head into the room.

“I’m King of the Squirrels.” He had a beard of peanut butter on his face. He made a motion as if to say something else, but simply ate some of the spread off of his face and ducked back around the porch.

That was an interesting addition to the night.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to comment questions or general 'why the hell did you write that sentence?' stuff. I love interacting with you guys! If I said something weird- comment. If I made a plot hole- comment. I know I already have a massive one that I need to think of solutions for, so help me out! Why would someone make circles out of random crap?! That never got fixed because I still have no idea why Roman would do that.
> 
> As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart, and have a great day. See ya!


	60. Pinned

The man in pink, the man in the suit, and the man with the crown were sitting on the dining room table. Virgil, Dr. Picani, Thomas, and Roman were staring back at them. Patton was getting coffee for them all. Logan was finding some more chairs, so everyone could get a seat.

“So who are you people? Why did The Player know you?”

|I am Darkiplier, usually referred to as Dark for simplicity’s sake. These are my min- _friends_ , Wilford Warfstache and The King of The Squirrels. They work for me.|

Well that wasn’t ominous at all. He folded his hands in front of himself on the table.

|And as for The Player whom you speak of… he reminds me a lot of a… _friend_ of mine. We’re… not on the best of terms.| His voice and body language suggested that they were the opposite of friends. No wonder he chose to leave.

“Yes, he does remind one of Anti! Man, the two of you-“ Dark slid his gaze on his pink companion and he shut up fast. Dark cleared his throat and looked back at the rest of you.

Logan returned from getting chairs. “Yes, Sean is an interesting fellow.”

Roman seemed surprised that he knew the man’s name, but Dark beat him to the punch.

“Did you say Sean?| He put a hand to his chest, thumping it hard. You heard a faint ‘ow’ in the general chaos surrounding the man. |Excuse me. That name seems very familiar. Do you mean Jack?|

There was the sound of several epiphanies as the table collectively understood their friend’s true identity.

|That would be a yes then I suppose.| Patton handed him a cup of coffee. |Thank you.| Logan rolled his eyes at his family.

“Did you all just notice? You really need to get your priorities straight.” He sipped from a glass of water.

Virgil noticed a figure peeking around the corner, who was waving him over. “Uh- excuse me. I have to use the restroom. Should only take a moment.”

Dark waved him away. |Yes. Human bodies are unnecessarily needy, aren’t they? We will wait for your return. Do not expect us to halt the conversation however.| What, like he didn't have one?

He walked silently out of the room before he saw Jack waving him over. He walked out to their porch. “What do you want?”

~~To warn you.~~

~~Y̸e̷s̸.̸ ̸T̶h̶e̴s̵e̷ ̵g̶u̴y̶s̵ ̷a̴r̵e̸ ̸b̵a̶d̵ ̷n̶e̷w̷s̸.̴ ̷~~

“Okay, I gathered that from the freaking pistol the one guy had. So, who are they? Why do you know them?”

~~They’re…old acquaintances of mine.~~

~~O̶l̵d̷ ̷F̴r̸i̸e̵n̶d̵s̷.̸ ̸~~

~~Old enemies more like.~~

~~Yeah, that. Thanks Marvin. So watch your toes. They shouldn’t exist.~~

“Like you?” He couldn’t bite back the retort.

~~Gee, thanks mister magic man. But yes, do watch your back. I don’t know what they’re capable of. My connection on this side has gone silent.~~

~~W̸a̷i̴t̷-̴ ̸M̵a̷r̶k̸ ̵i̸s̸n̶'̴t̸ ̷s̷a̷y̶i̷n̵g̷ ̵a̸n̶y̷t̴h̸i̷n̴g̷?~~

Virgil recalled something Roman had been annoyed about. “Markiplier I presume? He’s been missing for a little while here- a few weeks?”

F̶u̶c̵k̶ ̸m̵a̶n̴,̷ ̷I̸ ̵t̶h̸o̸u̴g̸h̶t̴ ̶w̴e̸ ̶w̴e̷r̸e̶ ̸d̷o̷n̷e̵ ̶w̷i̶t̷h̴ ̴a̸l̶l̵ ̶o̸f̵ ̵t̸h̵i̶s̶.̵ ̵D̵o̷e̷s̸ ̶t̵h̶a̶t̸ ̶m̸e̸a̴n̸ ̶h̵e̴'̷s̵ ̵m̴i̴s̴s̵i̴n̶g̸ ̴h̵e̶r̵e̷?̷ ̶T̵h̷i̷s̸ ̸i̷s̴ ̵b̷u̵l̷l̸s̶h̵i̴t̸.̵

~~What are ze talking about?~~

~~Schneep, I love you, but this is super complicated.~~

~~Fine. I shall go talk to ze neighbor. He iz very nice. Nicer zan all of you.~~  He heard the faint sound of a door closing.

“So back on track before they get suspicious. Are they dangerous?”

~~Yes.~~

“How dangerous?”

T̸h̸e̴y̸ ̷h̵a̵v̷e̷ ̷b̸o̷t̶h̸ ̶k̶i̵l̷l̵e̴d̴ ̴b̸e̴f̵o̸r̵e̴ ̴f̸o̴r̶ ̸f̷u̴n̸.̷

“Well fuck. What about the King?”

~~He’s relatively harmless. Easy to manipulate, but harmless. Bring him some peanut butter and he’s happy as a clam.~~

He realized how long they’d been talking. “I have to go but thanks-“

~~G̵o̸o̴d̴ ̷l̴u̵c̴k̴.̶~~

~~We’re rooting for ya! I’ll talk to some of my other friends to try to get a plan.~~

He returned to the group. Patton was eyeing The King and Wilford. Dark was chatting with Picani. Roman and Thomas looked glad that he returned. Logan was obviously trying to come up with a plan to get rid of them. He had an idea, and sent a text to Gaster.

 

**Panic@theEverywhere: Can we send Dee over here? We have an emergency where he will be rather useful.**

**GoopDoc: I’ll see what I can do. Do I have to wake him up?**

**Panic@theEverywhere: Yes.**

**GoopDoc: Okay. We will be by shortly.**

 

He only had to wait. He eyed the group as he sipped some coffee absently. He didn’t really feel tired, but he found that it helped him stay calm. He tapped his fingers on the countertop and hoped the doorbell would ring soon.

Then it did. Gaster stood there with Dee and Remy. It appeared they had been together. You went to answer it, apologizing profusely and claiming they were relatives coming over for the following day- it was a ‘birthday in the family’.

“Hey hon.”

“It appears there is some work to be done?”

“Goodbye you two. Text me later Virgil.” They entered, the door closed, and they were alone in the hallway. Dark looked over.

|Well hello there.| Dee’s eye lit up at the sight of the man, and he frantically tried to cover it. Virgil whispered frantically to his cousin as he went in front of him to block him from sight.

“Dude. What’s up?” This could put a chink in the plans.

“I don’t know!” He actually seemed kind of… afraid? “All I see is red and blue and-“ He stopped in his place. You faintly saw images whipping over his eyes. Were they… people? He spaced out, silent, for a good minute; then he blinked a few times and returned to reality. He looked around as if to get his bearings. His eye was no longer shining, but a definite yellow instead of his usual brown.

He glided over to one of the empty seats, smiling at the men like they were old friends. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you all.~” He smiled wickedly as he nodded to three places- to the right of Dark, to the left of Dark, and to the man in pink. The others he ignored entirely. “Damien. Celine. Colonial. I’ve heard so much about you.~” He folded his hands in front of him as everyone else looked confused. Well, except for Dark, who was jittering, faint wisps of static surrounding the edges of his silhouette.

There was a tense silence. Then the man in pink abruptly got up and walked out, fingers twitching. He yelled behind him.

“Never speak of that man again!” The door slammed, the assorted pictures on the walls rattling from the force. The King looked around nervously, weighing his options. Peanut butter dripped off of his face.

“I’m just going to-“ He pointed towards the door and ran out. Dee smiled wickedly, looking extremely comfortable in the chaos he’d created. The others took the silent cue and filed out, leaving only Virgil, Dee, Thomas, and Dark. The man glitched before them in shock as he tried to sort out his head. The colors around him elongated. Eventually they equalized, and Dark popped his neck while looking almost annoyed, causing one of the mirrors in the room to crack and fill with static. Virgil faintly saw a glimpse of a face before Dark caught his attention.

|What do you want.|

“I have a few friends who are looking for you, both in their world and ours, so my intent does not really matter. So, Dark, let’s make a deal.~” Thomas looked surprised, but quickly returned to a neutral face of displeasure.

|Why would I make a deal with the likes of you?| He glitched once, then frowned. |What benefits would there be?| He sounded like he was dragging himself into the conversation. And who were Damien and Celine?

Dee looked like he was about to speak, but then a great hum filled the air. A green portal- Rick and Morty style- opened in their dining room. A group of men stepped through it. The one in flamingo shorts who led the group spoke up.

“Top of the mornin’ to ya laddies. My name is Jacksepticeye, and welcome to Undertale.”

The green glitching one behind him smacked him upside the head.

S̴h̸u̸t̸ ̴u̶p̶ ̶S̶e̵a̸n̷.̶ ̴D̸o̵n̶’̸t̷ ̸m̵a̷k̷e̶ ̴a̵ ̵f̸o̵o̵l̶ ̵o̵f̶ ̶y̴o̶u̴r̷s̷e̵l̶f̵.̵

Sean-Jack? The Player?- sighed. “Fine. Now. Let’s get down to business.”

 

\--------

 

They were standing at the table. Fortunately, there were a lot of chairs, but some of them seemed to be happy to stand. He felt the urge to manifest his wings. He fought against it. Then you saw that the other glitchy guy had a knife. Or seven. So, he stood up to give one of them a seat- Thomas scooped it up- and leaned against the wall, allowing them to form. It was a reflex really. No- more of an arm or a leg. Was this how monsters felt with their magic? Like it was an extension of themselves?

One of the men, he was wearing a tailored vest, monocle, a bowtie, and a mustache, was looking longingly at his wings. Virgil sighed and extended one for him to look at closer. He seemed delighted and hurried forwards.

“That’s Jameson, Virgil. He’s mute, but as smart as a tack. Do any of you understand sign language, even a little?”

Virgil stared at him before realizing he’d never told the man about his injury.

[Hello Jameson. My name is Virgil. I understand somewhat of what you’re going through, so feel free to ask me for help, okay?]

Jameson looked even happier. He mimed the expression of wiping away tears and gave him a hug. He stiffened but let him do so anyways. It was probably a while from the last time he’d had people make allowances for his disability. He remembered the feeling. He released it, then continued to inspect his wings. Virgil was uncomfortable, but he figured he could last long enough before he had to retreat to his room. He imagined himself hiding under the hall table, crunched up in a ball. That helped a little. He focused back on the conversation Anti, Jack, and Dark were having. He still didn’t like the look of those knives.

Patton saw the others through the door and immediately asked if they wanted coffee.

“Sure. Black if you have it.”

_*Yes please.*_

“If it isn’t any trouble. Thank you.”

He made many mugs and set them on the table for everyone to grab at their leisure. Wilford came back in, his hands still shaking slightly. He stopped in his tracks as he saw Anti.

“YOU!” He made to grab for his gun, and Virgil saw it flash blue and fly across the room into Roman’s hands. Remy stood there by the china cabinet, looking annoyed. Virgil hadn’t noticed he’d never left.

“If I were you, I’d refrain from such actions. I’d hate for this to end on a bad note, seeing that we were doing so well.” His voice was cold, like Virgil’s got when he was feeling really stressed. Which he was. He unfurled his wings fully, dragging them out of Jameson’s grip. He could keep them up for hours at this point, and he wanted to be ready for a fight.

“Now, now kiddos. Let’s not act rash. I’m sure we can talk this out.” Picani was smiling awkwardly, obviously having no idea what was going on. Shoot- he’d barely had any contact with monster magic, and that was nothing like the sorcery these people brought with them. Roman grabbed his Uncle’s arm.

“Let’s try to settle this. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt, now would we?” He led the man out of the room. Jameson walked over to Wilford, holding out his hand in a peaceful gesture.

Wilford noticeable became less angry. “What do you want Jamie?”

He signed. _*Let’s settle this peacefully. I know you’re helping Dark, but we’ve worked together before. Why can’t we-*_ his words were broken off.

-BANG!-

JJ looked down and saw a hole in his vest, with Wilford holding another gun. He fingered the ragged hole in his suit in shock as he fell to his knees. Remy made a motion with this hand and the man slid over to Thomas, who was huddled with Marvin over the man. The masked man was summoning something green and channeling it with Thomas, accentuating his traits to be able to perform the magic he could not. The bullet had ricocheted, but that didn’t mean the man wasn’t injured badly. Virgil stood in front of his family and the one they were trying to protect, wings spread. Anti snarled, his eyes murderous.

W̶̐h̴͊ȁ̸t̷̂ ̸̎t̴̕h̴̒e̸͘ ̵̉h̴̓e̶l̴͑l̸̓ ̴̇m̵̍a̷̚n̸̋?̴̌!

He grabbed one of his knives and threw it, pinning the man by his sleeve to the wall. He threw another, pinning him by the arms to the wall. He marched straight up to him.

D̵̎o̵͛ ̴̅ý̶õ̷ư̴ ̶̿h̵̛á̷ṽ̶e̷̾ ̶̍n̶̂o̴̎ ̸̄ś̶ē̴n̵̏s̷͂e̵͝ ̵́ő̶f̶ ̴̑r̶͂e̵͌s̶̑p̴̛ò̴n̴̽s̴͘i̸̇b̷͊i̵̔l̴͆i̵͝t̷̂ẙ̵?̸́!̸̎ ̴̌Y̶̾o̷̒u̷̅ ̴̈j̵͊u̵̓ŝ̵t̷̓ ̴̕s̷̈́ẽ̶r̸̛i̸͒ő̵u̵͘s̶͋l̵̕y̴̌ ̵́î̷n̶͛j̸̈́u̷̕ȓ̸ȇ̶d̴̔ ̷͠ẏ̸ō̸u̶͐r̴̅ ̷̿f̴̍r̴͘i̴͠e̷͋n̴͂d̸͌!̴͗ ̴̈́Ỷ̷o̴͗u̵͠’̶͝r̴͌e̸̓ ̶̓l̵̛ú̶c̶̎k̴̀y̴͐  ̴͌w̸ë̶’̷̄r̶e̸̒ ̴ï̴n̶͋ ̷͗ä̵ ̷͐w̸͊o̶͠r̶̈ľ̷d̷̄ ̶̊w̶͝h̸͌e̵͝r̷̆e̵̕ ̵̛t̵̃h̶͛e̴͋r̴̃e̴̽’̷̿s̷͆ ̵̆ȟ̸ẽ̵a̸̾l̶̇i̷̒n̸̑g̵͊ ̷͘m̸̑a̴̍g̶͑i̷͗c̸ ̷̆ó̴r̶̈́ ̷̈́ë̷́l̶͌ś̸e̴͆-̵́

“Oh, can it Antisepticeye. You’re a hypocrite; acting like you’ve never killed anyone.”

Anti took out another knife, testing its sharpness with his finger and staring deep into the man’s eyes. A drop of blood appeared. He shoved it under Wilford’s chin.

W̶̉ë̵́l̷̽l̶̊ ̶̄I̴͝’̷̏d̴̎ ̵ḧ̵́ä̷́t̸̒e̸͠ ̵͐t̶́ơ̵ ̸̔m̶͂a̷͌k̴͝e̵͘ ̵̇t̶͋h̸̃a̷͝t̷̎ ̴̉n̴͠u̴̿m̸̕b̸͊e̴͝r̶͛ ̵̅i̴̊n̶͑c̷͠r̷̔e̴͛a̶͛s̶̈́e̶̊.̵̌

The motion shifted his collar, revealing a line of stitches along the man’s throat. Virgil repressed a shudder, knowing exactly what that meant. He had watched the videos.

This was the man who had killed the man before him. Now how did he survive?

He saw the man in a mask out of the corner of your eye scribbling something on the wall. Virgil wanted to tell him off, but he had a faint recollection of what he was scrawling. He were reminded of a book he had seen in the family library. Something in Greek? Latin? It wasn’t too important. He just hoped it took effect soon.

He hadn’t felt this scared since he had gotten shot.

He really hoped he didn’t have an anxiety attack. That would be just peachy.

He knew his hands were shaking. He swallowed through a bone-dry mouth and tried not to breathe too loudly. He felt his chest tighten.

He gritted his teeth as everything screamed in him to run from the room.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Virge. JJ too, but I'm sure nothing bad will happen to him. Or anyone else. R̵̠̅ĭ̵̺ġ̵̻h̵̰̆ṯ̵͆?̸̹͌
> 
> Have a great day and thank you for reading!~


	61. Otherworldly Maniacs

Gaster was working at his desk. Then he felt his phone ring. Were they done already? He looked at the name. Nope. That was his wife.

His wife. He still felt as giddy about that as he had the day after they got married. Well, after the shock settled in of course. He answered, smiling.

“Hello?”

[Hello love. Would you like to join me for dinner?]

“Of course! I may have to leave for a few minutes halfway in- I dropped Dee off at the Sanders’ abode to take care of an emergency, but the prospect sounds lovely if you wouldn’t mind me joining.”

[That’s why I offered you silly goose! Would you like to drive or teleport? We’d be going to Baker’s. We can enjoy the scenery of the surface with the first option.]

He thought about it. Both had merit- one was fast and easy, but the other let them see the sights of the surface. He hadn’t had time to do that as of late. Then it clicked.

“Would you mind walking? We can teleport there if we get tired, as Baker’s is on Main Street, but then we have the freedom to do whatever we want.”

[That’s a wonderful idea! I can go over to the Lab and we can walk over together. You can tell me of all your scientific exploits on the way. I’ve been making significant progress in Flowey’s project, and based on some of my observations, it will be relatively fast.]

“That sounds like a plan! When will you get here?”

“Now. Hello sweetie.~” She put her teeth on his forehead as she came around the desk, resting a hand on his shoulder. “You seem stressed. Do you want to do this another time?”

“No, no. As much as I have to get done I need a break. All of these side projects are digging into my working time and I’m in a snag. I need some air. It’s nice to see you.”

“It’s nice to see you too. Shall we?”

“Of course. Let me just clean up these papers-“ He quickly put them into their corresponding folders. Then he grabbed his usual black coat. “We shall. Onwards my wife!”

“Tally ho my husband!” She slid her arm into his with a smile, and they walked briskly out of the building smiling like they were newlyweds.

 

\--------

 

They passed a few houses as they chatted. It was faster to go through the community district, and hey- they were coming up to the Sanders’s residence. Corsiva stopped, face furrowed. He was jolted to a halt, as her arm was still intertwined with his. He stumbled to a halt.

“What’s wrong?” She lit her eyelights, scanning the area.

“I just felt a pulse of magical energy. Not the monster kind either.”

“What other kinds are there?”

“A lot.” She untwined their arms and walked around cautiously.

“Why are your eyes glowing? Do you see magical energy?” This was a new topic for them. They rarely talked about their own magic anymore, and he was curious.

“Yes- my purple one has the ability to see magic signatures if I concentrate. That’s how I know where people are- my colours. Hold on- here.” She went back over and put her fingers on his temples. His orange eye flared in response. “I don’t have the right traits for this analyzing thing. Do you notice anything?”

His vision shifted. There was a transparent layer over what he saw- like a thermal camera. Huh. He took a look around, his wife keeping her hands at his head. “Well? Do you see anything?”

“The house.” He tore away from her hands, his vision fading to normal. He barely noticed, still seeing the image burned into his memory. “Look at the house love. It’s surrounded.”

She gasped as she looked where he was stumbling towards. “What on Earth-“ He broke into a slow run, and she hurried to catch up. “My love! Wait!” She dismissed her eye as to be able to properly see him, and she ran faster, catching his arm just as he was approaching the porch.

She was just about to pull him back when they went sprawling backwards. It seemed they had hit a shield of some sort. She activated her magic and saw why. Green, blue, white, and red runes were surrounding the building, forming a wall. She saw that the area they had hit was reinforced with diamond-shapes, forming a mask-like shape. The mark of the caster.

This was a talented mage.

They were either screwed or lucky.

She really hoped the last one. This person was not from around here.

She pulled back her husband to the minimum safe distance that she felt was comfortable. At least ten feet away.

“What? What’s wrong-“

“You have to leave.”

“What? But honey-“

“Now. I’m not getting no for an answer. You don’t have protection against this kind of magic. I have a slightly better chance of surviving.”

“Slightly better- you are not going in there!”

“People could be in danger ‘Dings. I need to help them.”

“Not a chance! We need to-“

“Go. NOW! I’m not going to ask again.” I just want you to be safe.

He made as if to speak but broke off and teleported away. She faced the shield, turning on her eye. Anything else would be useless in this situation. Well, not red, but purple would do.

She would PERSEVERE.

She forced herself through the shield. Runes pushed against her like she was forcing herself through a thick layer of molasses.

If only she had a Blaster… but no. Pure force wouldn’t do it. She had to get through a crack.

She saw the opportunity she was looking for. She slipped through a gap between the runes and fell to her knees, inside the wall at last.

Good. She’d made it.

She got to her feet and went around the house, opening the back door.

 

There was chaos. She blinked, forgetting she had her eye on from trying to see the cracks in the barrier.

Better. Still chaotic, but better.

 

She saw several people look at her. There was a man in a vest on the couch, and Thomas was healing him with a masked man. Multiple other people were strewn about, and Virgil was waiting by the stairs, supporting a guy in a mask while he recovered from… something. Dee, a man with green hair, and a- what the hell was that? It looked like three people fused together- no, wait, it was a man in a suit with weird glitches around him. They sat at the dining table. Another guy had a man dressed in pink pinned to the wall with knives. The others were scattered, and Patton was comforting a guy wearing a red hat and crying? Who was he? Who were any of these people?

There was too much chaos. Too many people to keep track of.

“CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!”

Virgil flinched, and Chase started crying harder. Everyone looked in her direction, and a picture fell from the wall. A man in a crown was eating peanut butter with a spoon, and a squirrel jumped off of his lap and ran out of the door past her legs. The man in the mask got up.

“How did you get past my wall?” His eyes were burning blue behind his mask.

“Why was there a wall in the first place? What is happening?!”

“ **Can you stop asking questions?!** ” You were surprised at what came out of Virgil’s mouth- it was monstrous and deformed. He cringed. “ **Just…** please. It’s loud enough in here as it is.” The man in the couch signed something. Virgil nodded. “Jameson agrees. This chaos isn’t helping.”

The man with green glitches raised his hand. “C̶a̷n̵ ̷I̴ ̴s̷t̶i̵l̷l̴ ̵k̶i̵l̵l̶ ̸h̵i̴m̷?̸”

“Go ahead hypocrite. If you dare.”

“What?! NO!” The man sitting at the table with green hair- man a lot of these guys looked similar. “Anti! No killing!”

“W̶e̵l̵l̸ ̶y̷o̶u̴ ̸w̴e̴r̷e̷n̶’̶t̸ ̵c̸o̴m̵p̶l̸a̵i̵n̸i̶n̴g̵ ̷t̸h̴e̷ ̷l̶a̴s̵t̴ ̵t̸i̸m̷e̶ ̷I̶ ̸d̸i̴d̸ ̵i̶t̸.̴ ̴W̴h̵y̷ ̸a̷r̵e̸ ̷y̷o̶u̸ ̷c̶o̷m̸p̸l̶a̸i̵n̴i̵n̶g̷ ̷n̸o̸w̴?̸”

“THAT WAS ME YOU IDIOT!” The one in the mask raised his hand to add to the conversation.

“Yeah- I’m not raising him from the dead again, and that extends to everybody. Anti, good guys don’t kill people.”

He grumbled something. Thomas stood up. “Okay. Anti, along with anyone else with a bone to pick- No one is killing anybody! I just healed a guy who someone tried to kill, and I can’t do that again!”

There was a general noise of agreement from the half of the room who wasn’t trying to murder anybody. Anti grumbled, freeing the man in pink from the wall with a frown as he pulled out the knives and put them back into his belt.

You heard a disappointed sigh from over where Dee and the man in black were sitting. You couldn’t tell which one had done it, but you saw a few glances in that direction.

“Okay! Anyone else want to kill anyone here? Raise your hand!”

The Man in pink, Anti, the man in black, and a doctor from the other side of the room raised their hands.

“Schneep, don’t raise your hand.” The doctor glared at him then slowly lowered it. The one in the… were those flamingo shorts?- put a hand to his head in exasperation. “Sorry about that. He’s German. Translation errors happen sometimes.”

 “Zat was not a translation error. You try to kill my friend, I try to kill you. Simple as zat.”

There were a few moments of the two of them just looking at each other in silent confusion and internal screaming. The one who wasn’t a doctor just sighed and took a seat on the couch, shaking his head. “That’s it, I’m done. This isn’t video game. I can’t control you guys. Just please, please don’t make your hands red.”

Thomas looked thoughtful. “This is giving me so many Sanders Sides ideas.”

There were a few moments of realization from the adults in the room who were not from here.

“So THAT’S what you reminded me of!”

Thomas looked proud and confused. “Wait- you’ve heard of it?”

“Heard of it? Of course! In our world you’re an internet sensation! You’re a bit older though, and the rest of you are just… well, characters.”

“Wait- in your world I’m not real?” Roman looked simply flabbergasted. Logan shrugged.

“Granted, in our world half of you people are just characters, so everything does even out.” He took a sip of water.

“Logan how are you not having an existential crisis right now?”

“It’s simple statistics Roman. There are an infinite number of universes, according to the ever-popular many worlds theory, and it would be illogical to assume that a variant of our universe doesn’t exist where we are mere characters in a medium developed to tell a complex story.”

“Okay, this is something crazier than anything Joan or Talyn or I would have ever dreamed up.” Thomas looked stunned. Then he shook his head. “Okay, nevermind. That makes perfect sense.” Dee looked over.

“Stop lying to yourself Thomas! That’s my job!”

“Wait- lying to Thomas or lying to yourself? Clarify your word choice please?” Virgil put a finger to his lips.

“Not the time Logan.”

“Oh, sorry. Anyways, speaking of not making sense, who are you people? All of you please introduce yourself. There are a great number of newcomers.”

 They introduced themselves. Anti, Wilford, Marvin, Sean/Jack, Chase, the Sanders teens, Dr. Picani- who was extremely confused by the way- Dark, Jameson, and The King of the Squirrels. And Corsiva. Well, that was a large bunch.

“And Damien and Celine.~”

|How do you know of them?|

Dee waved his hands mystically. “Maaggicc.” He smirked, and the man in black put his head in his hands, glitching silently as sighed deeply.

|Is the fact that they’re dead not enough for you? Do you have to shove it down my throat?!| Dee seemed surprised, but quickly hid it.

The mage- Marvin. His name was Marvin- looked at Dark with curiosity. “Who are these people? You haven’t stopped talking about them.”

|Living nightmares, the two of them. Now shut it masked man.|

“But aren’t they dead? Your words confuse me.”

|More alive than you will be if you continue to speak of them!|

That shut both Logan and Marvin up. There was an awkward silence. Then Anti turned on Dark, his eyes turning black.

“̶̩̑N̶̲̕o̵̕͜w̴͔̚ ̷̰w̸̱͝h̵͖̎e̶̫͐ṙ̴̡ę̷̉ ̴̺̋i̵̦̿s̸̼̀ ̷͕͝M̷̗a̸̳̿r̴̝̈k̸͓̏?̶̺̽”̷̮̆

Dark didn’t look up as he thumped his chest and made a noise like he had something stuck in his throat. He swept his hair back and continued to look at the table. Said hair was developing a slightly red tinge, which was odd because it was on the blue side. He coughed. |Excuse me.| He stood up and left the room, going outside to the porch. Wilford was about to go with him, but one snarl from Anti kept him inside.

There was a few moments of silence interspersed with static as they all looked at each other. Anti stood up, holding his phone.

“̸I̶f̴ ̴a̷n̷y̸o̶n̴e̷ ̷f̶r̷o̸m̷ ̵o̴u̶r̴ ̷u̸n̶i̴v̶e̶r̵s̸e̶ ̶w̴i̴s̵h̴e̷s̴ ̸t̷o̶ ̶r̴e̵t̷u̴r̶n̷ ̶n̴o̸w̷ ̵b̸e̷f̴o̵r̶e̵ ̶t̸h̷i̵n̴g̸s̶ ̷g̸e̷t̸ ̷u̷g̴l̴y̸,̷ ̸f̴e̸e̷l̵ ̷f̵r̷e̸e̴.̶”̴

He touched a few buttons and a green portal appeared in the wall. Chase immediately went through it, along with Jameson. Patton sent a few healing cookies along with the men. The King silently stepped through, leaving behind a bucket of Peanut Butter. So he was from their world after all. Interesting.

Did that mean that Dark and Wilford were too?

 

And where was Mark? Who was Mark? Why was Mark?

 

She felt like there was something right in front of her face that she was missing as the portal whooshed before her.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh ho ho! The next chapter is gonna be fun~  
> I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading! Feel free to check out my other stuff if you like Egos, Sanders Sides, or Marvel, along with an assortment of other things. have a lovely day!


	62. One-Sided Conversation

Virgil hated to leave, but he had to. He was shaking hard, and he either needed to blast his music in his room, or curl up under a table or something until he calmed down. The second idea was the one that would last the longest and be most effective, so he snuck upstairs to his room.

He hated how weak he felt.

He couldn’t rely on himself to be there to protect them.

Well that just made him feel worse.

He slipped away in the distraction the others made, grateful for the chance to get away. He climbed up to his room and crawled under the bedside table, dismissing his wings and hiding enough to calm himself down. He was almost calm enough to go downstairs when he heard a cacophony of noises. He remembered who was in his house. He stifled down an urge of annoyance and slowly got up to go downstairs. His foot narrowly escaped being impaled by a knife coming up from the floorboards. How the- his room was above Roman’s-?

He went downstairs into Roman’s room and saw the problem. The knife had been thrown with such force it had gone straight through the floor and into his bedroom.

He saw a blur of green and pinkish-red from between the torn floorboards. Roman was going to be pissed- he loved his room.

No- screw it- he was pissed. And it wasn’t even his room!

He stormed down the stairs, not even noticing the fact that the makeup under his eyes had gotten darker and his voice had gone monstrous.

“ **SHUT UP! SERIOUSLY! YOU COME INTO OUR HOUSE, DESTROY OUR STUFF, ALMOST KILL SOMEONE, AND YOU ARE ACTING LIKE A GREAT BUNCH OF FOOLS AND BICKERING LIKE A BUNCH OF CHILDREN! I’M SICK OF IT!** ”

They blinked from their tackled position on the floor- Anti, Marvin, and the Doctor in scrubs were holding down the man in pink- Wilford? Yeah. That jackass.- They were looking at him in shock. What? Was there something on his face?

Then he saw where they were looking. Thomas was falling backwards into the portal- and, before he or anyone else could do anything- he was wiped from existence.

Well fuck.

This was rubbish.

Screw you universe.

 

 

\-----------

 

Thomas fell into a living room on his hands and knees, feeling dizzy and jumbled.

What the heck just happened?

“Oh no.” He lifted his head up at the voice. The King. “You have to leave. Now. I know we can come to your world, but you to ours? This is bad.”

Then he felt a gust of wind and heard a schwooping noise, and the portal behind him closed, along with his chance at getting home.

Well snickerdoodles on a surfboard.

 

\-----------

 

Sean looked around, confused as they vanished one by one with varied shocked expressions. Logan, Patton, Roman, Virgil, Dee, then Remy. Where were they? Picani was there still, at least for now, so what about the teens?

He looked at Anti and Wilford at the same time as Dark, who had walked back in at the noise they had made.

“Guys! Knock it off! We have other things to worry about!”

|Knock it off you two, or things will get ugly.| They immediately got up and went to the opposite sides of the room, although with plenty of glares and growls.

Corsiva and Marvin were writing on the wall, debating where they should go. Schneep saw a gash on his friend’s arm.

“Marvin! What iz on your arm? Do ze need my assistance?”

He looked down, not seeming bothered at all by the huge cut on his arm. “Eh, I’ll deal with it later.” He absentmindedly grabbed some cloth out of his pocket and wrapped it while whispering with the skeleton.

“So where are the kiddos? Only Thomas fell through-“ Picani looked on as the others winced. “What? I know you’re hiding something from me. Tell me!”

He was like a really angry Patton. Corsiva sighed, along with Marvin and Anti.

“My best guess is because Thomas was the one who fell through, he assimilated to the environment with the others… well, becoming characters. I don’t know how or where they are, but they definitely aren’t here."

“But what about him? He’s a character too. Why didn’t he disappear?”

He spaced out as they conversed; or debated, as Logan would say. Speaking of Logan…

Where were they? How were they? Why had all of this happened?

And why didn’t anything happen to him?

He was a character too, so why-?

And if something did happen, when?

 

\--------

 

He was so confused. Where were they? Where was he? He got to his feet and looked around nervously, seeing nobody but a panicking King and a sleeping Jameson on the couch.

(Well, it’s obvious you are in The Player’s world. Keep sharp Thomas.)

Wait- that sounded slightly different to his thoughts. Logan?

(Well yes. I thought that was obvious. Our forms seemed to have shifted in some way when you went through the portal.)

But where were they now?

(I believe we are… Sides, no matter how illogical that may seem. We have turned into the characters from your video format.)

_So?_

(You are not grasping this as quickly as I thought you would Thomas. We are in your head.)

_So can I summon you like Thomas could in the videos?_

(Perhaps. I still have yet to find the others- oh, ignore my prior statement. Hello Virgil. I was speaking with Thomas.)

(Where are we? All I remember is Thomas falling through and then… this. Why are we here?)

(We seem to be inside Thomas’ head. I believe- we believe- that we have taken on the forms of the Sides from Thomas’ videos. Or at least- into a similar format.)

(Hey kiddos! What’s going on here!) He felt a rush of joy and relief. _But where was Roman? Or Sleep? Or Dee?_

(Where are we? I am bitterly jittery, and not very glittery.)

(Oh Hello.~ I have full confidence in where I am and why I’m here.~)

(Hi Deceit!)

He looked around as the voices in his head thought about where the missing side was. The King made sure Jameson was okay and left the room, although Thomas barely noticed.

(Wait- WAIT! Thomas, put on your camera! Sleep as a character only happened on the Vines and Shorts! Maybe he resides there!)

_In my phone?_

(It’s not a great leap in logic. Nonsensical, of course, but not impossible. There is magic in this universe, so there may be something of the sort that would allow for something like this to happen.)

(Good idea Roman and Logan! You two make such a good team!)

He turned on his phone and went to the Camera. There, in full view, was a very livid and confused Remy.

“Hey Rem. Nice to see you.”

[Finally! You found me! How the heckity-heck did I get here? All I remember is you falling through the portal and BAM! I’m in your phone! What’s up gurl?] He heard the sound that Virgil made in the videos when he appeared, and there he was.

(Well that was a warm welcome Rem-cycle.)

Roman came up. (Oh can it Charlie Frown!) He huffed. (I’m sorry I called you Charlie Frown. It’s just that this senseless bickering never gets us anywhere!)

Logan came in, along with Patton who simply marveled at the surrounding apartment, including a very confused King.

“Why are you talking to yourself- how did you get here?!” He was spooning peanut butter from the can again, and his crown was lopsided.

Patton waved at him. He waved back in confusion, then went over to sit by Jameson with a concerned frown. Patton pulled out some cookies from midair and gave him a bag full of them. Ah, Patton at work. How did he get the cookies? Oh wait- they could make stuff in the videos. It must have the same rules in this universe.

(What does ‘get us anywhere’ as you phrased it, is why you just quoted the videos for a second time.)

(I did? Heckity-heck? Five abs and one peck?)

(You continue to do it even with my attempts at corralling you. This is why you confuse me.)

Dee was still absent, and Sleep was very tired of being in a phone.

[Stop fighting and find out how to get back!] Virgil surveyed the room and picked up a heavy book filled with odd text from the table. So they could interact with the world. Cool.

(What is this? Why is it here?) He flipped through it, trying to read it, and Logan came over to help decode it.

(This appears to be a book of spells. It is written in a mix of Latin and Greek, along with some Norse-like runic symbols. If I have enough time I can probably decode it with your help Virgil. You took Latin in sixth online, correct?)

(Uh, yeah. This looks familiar too- didn’t we have a book like this in the family library?)

Logan snapped his fingers in realization. (Yes! This is a similar book of text. This says… Portal. Level three. Supplement level five-dash-seven. What does that mean?)

(Blood.) They looked at Virgil in confusion. King took the chance to take Jameson and go next door, presumable to Chase’s. You didn’t blame him. (That means blood. Five drops of blood to make it work. Did you see the cut on Marvin’s hand that he wrapped up? That was when he healed Jameson. The healing magic, remember?)

(So this requires a blood donation? I don’t feel comfortable with this.)

[Agreeing with Sir Sing-A-Lot there. What about The Player’s Computer?] Logan dropped the book into Virgil’s hands and went searching for the room and the device. There was a sound of astonishment.

(It’s on! The Player didn’t even close out of the program! This is great news!)

You hurried to where his voice was coming from, holding your phone aloft so Remy could see. Logan was at the computer, looking at the layout of the Sanders’ living room.

{What the heck happened?}

{I don’t know. Marvin, Corsiva, you guys got anything? Anti, can you re-open the portal?}

{Nope, sorry. My book was left in your apartment. Sorry Sean.}

{̸W̸e̸l̴l̷ ̵cr̷a̶p̴.̵}

{What kind of book is it?}

{A magic book. Its written in a mix of Latin, Greek, and Nordic runes. It’s pretty obvious when you see it.}

You saw your uncle run down to the basement, where you kept a lot of old family books and pictures- oh. So that was where he was going. He was down there for a few minutes before bringing out a thick purple book not unlike the one Logan held.

(Well it seems my organizational efforts have paid off.)

{Like this?}

{How do you- yes, this is one of the magical books- and… exactly the same copy. It has a slightly less-worn cover, but the chances of that are quite small granted the sheer number of tomes out there. How do you have this?}

{It’s an old family heirloom. It’s been in and out of the family for years. Is it what you need?}

{Yes. Thank you.} He opened it to what seemed to be the portal page from what you could see from your bird’s eye view, and Logan flipped to it as well. Marvin scribbled something in it with a pencil, and Roman couldn’t withhold a small gasp as the words appeared in their copy in a faint glowing greenish-blue. What the heck?

Roman summoned a pencil and put it into Logan’s hand. He waved Virgil over.

(Can you write ‘This is the Sanders. Do you copy?’ I don’t believe that the language matters- there are random notes in here in normal English.)

Virgil scribbled something down as Logan paid close attention to the monitor.

{Hey guys? There’s something odd happening, I- wait- Sanders? They have my book! It seems they’re linked somehow…. We can communicate with them!}

Virgil wrote something down, erasing what he had previously written.

{They say… they’re watching through the monitor?} Sean clapped his hands together gleefully.

{I must have forgotten to close out of the file on my computer! You guys are geniuses! If we can communicate, how are you doing? Where are all of you, and do you know why you all disappeared as soon as you fell through Thomas?}

Virgil erased and scribbled madly. As he did, Logan modified the view, making it so they could see at a first-person level. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the skills to add themselves into the world like The Player would have been able to do and communicate, so they had to make do with what they had. None of them had any decent hacking skills, and it was all they could do to change the view.

Well this was rather one-sided.

Get it? Sides?

Ah well, Patton would have found it funny.

Speaking of which, where was Patton?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger! Sorry, but it had to happen.   
> Have a great day, and see you guys Wednesday/Thursday!


	63. You Are Not A Robot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sometimes feel sorry for my characters... oh well.

Patton was cleaning. Well, mostly making Jameson comfortable, but also cleaning. He was called “Dad” among his friend group for a reason, and he wanted to make the man’s recovery as easy as possible.

And he was making cookies. Fortunately, they had the ingredients, and he made sure to remind himself to put most of them in the fridge for them. He was using their supplies after all. He was making a kind of cookie he hadn’t made in a while- brown butter and sea salt. He didn’t know why he didn’t make them more often- they had less than five ingredients and tasted decent. Not as good as his chocolate-chip, but he’d perfected those.

He browned the butter while keeping an eye on the sleeping human. He looked down at the smell- he had almost burned the butter. Only prior experience gave him the knack to save it. Man, the first five times he had tried this recipe….

He jolted up as the smell hit his nose. No! The butter! Well that did it- he had to make it again. At least the smell of burnt butter wasn’t too bad…

He put on the fan just in case and re-did the butter. There. He added the rest of the ingredients and put them in the fridge.

Now to wait. He heard a commotion in the bedroom. They were obviously getting some things done. He straightened some items on the counter as Logan came outside, mouth open to deliver a retort of some kind. He lifted a finger for him to wait and nodded towards the sleeping man. The two of you went into the hallway.

(What have I told you about wandering off? You made Thomas worried.)

(Well I’m sorry Lo! I wanted to make some cookies and clean up a bit! For Jameson! And don’t forget the fact that we’re intruding in The Player’s home! I wanted to do him a favor!)

Logan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. (Fine. Just warn us before you perform such an action again. I do not want to cause unnecessary worry to Thomas, seeing as our role in his well-being has been maximized for the near future.)

(Okie dokie kiddo! Say, what do you think of this whole mishap anyways? The book, the computer, the portal, all of that stuff?)

(It’s an unnecessary blockade in Thomas’s future goals- oh. That’s what you’re getting at. That was remarkably astute.)

(Ah, well. I try. So yeah- tell the others about the perspective change if you want to. I’m gonna make some more cookies!)

He made to turn around when he fizzled and went back into the mindscape. Well dang. The cookies were in the fridge. Well at least Logan was there. (Dang it. I left the cookies in the fridge.)

(That isn’t important. At least they aren’t in the oven. Now why did we go here?)

He paced, straightening his tie. He paused as he had an idea. (Do the Sides have a time limit for how long they remain in the ‘Real World’?)

(Not that I know of, but Roman or Thomas would be the judge of that.)

(Roman? Why Roman? Thomas, of course, but Roman?) 

(He’s Thomas’s Creativity- and I did it again.)

(We’re not the Sides, but we’re becoming more and more like them. Remy’s stuck in the phone, Roman’s reciting lines, Virgil… I have no idea along with Dee, and our perspectives are shifting. Curious.) He smiled briefly as he shifted into his Sherlock costume. (The game is afoot dear Watson. Let us venture.)

The walked off in the other direction, scarf somehow remaining stationary despite the movement. Patton walked faster to catch up, putting on his cardigan and smiling broadly. Roman would be ecstatic that Logan was actually playing along. Well, their Roman. Not the Side. Actually, well…. who knows really.

He had to have Virgil remind Thomas of the cookies. He didn’t want anything to happen to them. What if they didn’t turn out?

And did the others sync to the mindscape, or was it just them? Was Remy still stuck in the phone?

Logan held up his hands. (Hold on, wait, wait, wait. Lots of thoughts. Ideas. Is that you?)

(Uh, yeppersnappers?) What just came out of his mouth? Oh well. It worked.

(Please refrain from using such nonsensical language in the future. Yes or no?)

(Fine. Yes.) Grumpy Gus.

(Well this is odd. Granted, as the logical reasoning center of the brain that would make sense…. Oh. Did we brainstorm something like this for Logic once?)

(We may have thought about it- what’s happening? Where are the others?)

There was a blur of purple as Virgil fell onto the ground right in front of them. Well that answered that. What about Roman?

(Gee thanks for the help.) Virgil said sarcastically as he got up and brushed himself off. Then he froze with a slightly fearful expression on his face. (Where’s Ro?)

At this, Roman rose out of the ground with a bored expression on his face. (What do you want Incredible Sulk?)

(Now Roman, be nice to Virgil!) Logan and Patton eyed each other. More personality changes… now he’s hostile to Virgil like he was before Accepting Anxiety…

This wasn’t good. Virgil was stressing, tugging at his sleeves and curling in on himself.

(Why don’t you produce your wings? It may help alleviate your stress.) Not a bad idea Logan.

Virgil breathed outwards, then scrunched his face in concentration when nothing happened. He paled after about three seconds. (Nothing’s happening. Oh god. Oh no. Why isn’t anything happening? Are they gone? Do you guys still have your powers? Is this permanent? Oh no….) He curled into a ball on the ground, rocking back and forth as they tried their powers to no avail.

(Well this is unexpected.)

(Now, now kiddo! Let’s not stress over this. There must be a reason for the lack of magic! We can just ask Dee and Remy when we see them again!)

Roman scoffed, walking in the other direction. (I do not need magic to be a prince! We can battle this beast and return to our native land shortly.)

He liked the old Roman. This Prince was…was... like fine-grit sandpaper. Not too abrasive and could be used to create a false-finish, but still grating and rough. Definitely not Roman.

Patton sighed as he helped Virgil to his feet. (It’s okay Virge. Everything will be fine. Just focus on the breathing exercises.)

(But what if it isn’t fine?! Everything is going to go horrible wrong…)

(It does not do to work strictly on ‘what if’s’ and uncertainties. That would be illogical. If I could make a suggestion, I would try to speak to Thomas as we normally would. If we assumed we spoke on the subconscious level, we could direct our speech to Thomas and possibly even Remy. Now if we could find Deceit that would make this process easier….)

At that Dee came falling out of the sky. What a Deus-Ex-Machina. He sighed, looking up at the three of them who were actually paying attention with an annoyed expression. (I have been falling for thirty minutes!)

Well that certainly wasn’t a reference to anything in particular. Virgil snickered. Patton made a mental note to re-watch Thor the next time he had a chance. Logan looked confused, looking at his watch.

(The most we could have been in here is ten minutes. I’d advise you to get a watch when we return home.)

(You really need to watch Marvel Movies with us Lo.) Virgil looked around, taking a few steps ahead. (How should we get out of here? Where’s Roman?)

(Can you all please stop asking questions? I am starting to get a headache.) Logan rubbed his temples. Virgil looked at Patton with curiosity.

(One of the headcannons we had for Logan took effect.)

(Ah.) He looked around some more. (No like really- where is he?)

They looked around. Roman had disappeared. They felt a tug in their guts. Presuming it was anxiety or stress, they ignored it. It came again. They ignored it. Then it was sharp enough to be painful, full on making Patton fall to one knee.

(Ow…What is that?) Logan blinked and adjusted his glasses, one hand on his side like one would if they had a stitch.

(Possibly Thomas calling us as Sides. How do we sync up?) The last time had been too fast to really get a grip of how.

Virgil concentrated, then disappeared. Well that was one of them. Then Logan. Patton focused on his emotions, and he felt himself sync down and back up into the real world. Dee popped into existence next to him in the same mater as Virgil.

“Where the heck were you guys?! I was calling for ten minutes!”

[Yeah. We- Thomas- was pretty worried. Where’d ya go gurls?]

Roman synced up at that, flipping his hair and sighing deeply. He wasn’t looking near Virgil at all, and Thomas looked worried. “What’s up with you, Roman?”

(Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.) He wasn’t looking at Virgil still, who shrugged in Thomas’s direction.

(We believe- not to put any excess pressure or stress on you- that prolonged exposure in this world is having adverse effects on all of us. Remy is stuck in the phone, we can’t use our powers, Roman is acting more like Princey did before Accepting Anxiety, Patton and I are experiencing a slight perspective change, Patton is slightly more emotionally attuned than on average, and there still may be something off with Virgil and Dee but we don’t know yet.)

Thomas blinked a few times. “That didn’t help. What are we supposed to do now? I’ve been looking at the monitor, but they just seem to be working out a solution to getting back. I can’t understand the book at all and you guys didn’t respond after disappearing like that. Why did you go anyway?”

They shrugged. (Well, kiddo, I don’t know. Maybe because we don’t belong in this world, we are forced to go back into your head because of what we were turned into. Until we manage to get back, that may be something we have to deal with.)

“That was surprisingly astute. Thank you. But what now? I’m just feeling… anxious. Virgil? Anything on your end?”

He thought for a minute. (The most we can probably do right now is worry and plan. As much as I hate to say it, we need to talk about what differences we’re experiencing. I hate it just as much as you, but it’s our best option to figure out how to get home.)

(Well, Tony Stank, maybe we should-)

(Tony Stank? Really? Wow Princey, nice job degrading yourself to schoolyard taunts.)

(Well Mr. Contemptible, maybe you should-)

“Woah, WOAH, WOAH! Everybody calm down, please!” They both looked at Thomas sheepishly. Well. Virgil did. Roman did for a second before going back to glare at his brother. “As much fun as I am having talking with you guys, I don’t want this to dissolve into chaos! Patton, Logan said you were having perspective changes. What kind was he talking about?”

(Well, mostly character stuff. Lo? You can explain it better than I can.)

(We seem to be working through distortions where we act like the Sides in aspects concerning our relationship to you. Slips of the tongue mostly. Not impossible to deal with.)

(Yeah! Thanks, Lo! Basically, I’ve also been getting slightly more emotional and empathic too, and Logan’s been dealing with all of our questions. If they’re not rhetorical thoughts, they run through his head too. What about Thomas’s? Or Remy?)

(There seems to be no connection between Thomas’s questions and the ones running through my head. They do not seem to be emotionally charged. I do not think Remy’s questions have the same connection either.) He straightened his tie.

(And that’s one question answered! And for Roman-)

(I’m perfectly perfect padre!) Virgil rolled his eyes.

(Okay then. What about you Dee?)

He gave a thumb’s up. (I definitely do not feel fine.)

So backwards speak, but pretty normal. (Remy?)

[Other than being stuck in a phone I feel fine. Thanks for asking hon.]

(Aww, no problem Remy! Anything with you Thomas?)

“Uuh, other than you guys being the way you are I feel okay. Slightly more anxious than usual, but decently okay.”

(Sorry…) Virgil dug his hands into his hoodie and flipped up the hood with a practiced ease, tightening it.

“Oh, no Virgil! It’s nothing you could do! I’m fine, really. Don’t worry.” Virgil loosened the hood a bit, which was the most you could ask for.

They sat on the couch and the chairs. Virgil sat on the cabinet. Thomas sighed after a few minutes of silence.

“Is there anything we can do to get home?” He felt a few pinpricks by his eyes. “I would kill to see everyone again.”

(The most we can do is wait. Sorry Thomas.)

Logan got up to check the monitor for the second time since they had returned from the Mindscape.

He came back after a few minutes, almost seeming dejected. Patton waved at Thomas with a strained smile and went back to the Mindscape. Surprisingly, Logan followed. They sat down on the ground, facing each other.

(You okay Lo? You seem… down.)

(I am fine. What about yourself? You said you were experiencing amplified emotions to an extent. How do you feel?)

(As good as anyone could in this situation. What about you? Are you feeling… more logical or something? I don’t know… how are you feeling?)

(You simply rephrased your previous question. As I said, I am fine.)

Bull. He was lying- it was obvious. Patton sent him a Look. (Logan?)

Logan let out a shuddery sigh, looking up at the dark expanse around them. While their surroundings weren’t exactly great, Patton felt worried about Lo. He wasn’t acting like himself.

(Logan. How. Do. You. Feel?)

(As much as a robot can feel. Now please leave me alone.) He flopped onto his back.

(A wha- robot? Logan, you are not a ro-)

(No? I do not experience what one would call emotion, my thinking is strictly logical, and I don’t ‘feel’ like you do. I am what one would call a robot.)

(Lo, that is the switch talking. You are not a robot.)

(There is no switch talking Patton. It is undeniable- everyone knows it, and I have just accepted it. Do not let your fondness for a cold husk fuel your naivety.)

(Lo, do you think I am stupid?) Logan looked up at this.

(No, that is absurd, why do you-)

(I have the common sense to know that you are not a robot. You may not experience the world quite like me, but that doesn’t mean you don’t feel at all! What about your love for Crofter’s? Or the fact that we call you family?)

(People have formed intimate bonds with AI-)

(You are not a robot Logan! And I will not stand for such hogwash! You are a human being! You feel, you live, you love. Now shut it and get up you sack of smarts.) He stared at Patton with a slack-jawed expression as he complied, stunned.

(Patton, I-)

(Save your words for when we get back, okay? Mull it over.) He smiled. (Because it takes time to solve a Rubix cube. Come on kiddo. Let’s go back.)

They synced up into the real world.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Logan's feelings may seem to have been coming out of nowhere but he has been thinking about this for a while. There were small glimpses of it when Logan was thinking about his bully, Richie, a few chapters back. (I dunno, I just like adding stuff I'm sorry okay?)
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading and have a great day! Feel free to comment of ideas or whatever if you want to! I love taking with you guys!


	64. A Prince's Duty

Remy was super bored. He would have been less bored, but Thomas barely had any games on his phone that he liked. Sure, there was social media, but you could only go on there for so long before missing the real things in life. What about his job? What day was it in their world? Was it syncing up now that they had left, or was every minute they stayed there a large gap of time in their world they were missing? How long had they been gone?

Had it been days? Or mere minutes? An hour?

He lay on the bottom of the Home Screen. He’d learned to navigate the phone, but it was hard finding anything comfortable. He wished he had his magic, but it had seemed to disappear like with the others.

Did the men from this world have magic? The King didn’t seem to have any other than a connection with squirrels, but that could be a power, right? What about Wilford? Or Dark? The Player? Anti? Did Jameson have any powers? Marvin seemed to have magical abilities with the book, but what about the others? If they had powers, did Dad? Was magic hereditary?

Why did Thomas not have powers? Did he feel bad about it? Did he hate them?

He hoped Logan didn’t get any of his questions. He didn’t think he did, but who knew.

Well, if he wouldn’t kill for some Muffet’s. Shoot- he’d even have bad gas station coffee if he could. But he couldn’t fall asleep.

He reached up and tapped the notes app. The screen opened up in front of him, and he decided to draw. He was bored, so why not. He wasn’t nearly as good as Roman or Virgil, but he wasn’t too bad, right?

He grabbed one of the brushes and started to paint. It was like drawing on a massive canvas. Huh. He blocked out the general shape with pencil and began to paint. Soon a to-go cup of Starbucks sat in front of him. The proportions were slightly off, and the app didn’t have the best colours, but it would do.

Man, he was bored. He didn’t do art. Well, he did it, but he didn’t enjoy it very much. All he drew were caffeinated drinks. He tossed the brush away, dismissing the app. For someone who spent his life in a phone, actually being in one was boring.

He wondered what the others were doing.

 

\--------

 

Anti was staring down the skeleton in front of him.

M̴o̶v̸e̷.̷

“i’d rather not if it’s all the same to you.”

I̵’̶m̷ ̸t̴i̸r̵e̶d̷ ̶o̷f̵ ̸t̷h̷i̴s̷.̶ ̴I̷ ̸m̷u̴s̴t̸ ̷s̴p̷e̴a̷k̵ ̸t̶o̸ ̶t̸h̸e̷ ̵o̴n̸e̴ ̴w̷i̷t̶h̵ ̵h̵o̵l̸e̷s̵ ̷i̷n̶ ̵h̴i̴s̶ ̸h̷a̸n̶d̸s̴.̵

“anythin’ you need to tell him you can tell me.”

He sighed, dragging his hands over his face. He was losing the small amount of patience he had.

“now who are you, and what do you want?”

I̷ ̸a̵m̶ ̶k̵n̴o̴w̷n̴ ̸a̸s̶ ̵A̷n̷t̴i̸.̸ ̸A̸s̷ ̷I̴ ̶s̷a̷i̵d̸ ̸p̸r̷e̷v̸i̸o̵u̶s̸l̷y̷,̶ ̶I̵ ̸m̷u̸s̴t̸ ̴s̵p̵e̴a̴k̵ ̶t̶o̶ ̵t̷h̸e̵ ̶m̸a̴n̷ ̵w̶i̷t̴h̴ ̴h̷o̵l̶e̶s̸ ̴i̸n̷ ̷h̷i̷s̵ ̴h̴a̶n̸d̷s̵.̴ ̴

“anti? that’s an unusual name.”

T̵e̸l̷l̶ ̸m̶e̷ ̵a̷b̴o̵u̵t̵ ̸i̷t̸.̴ ̶N̵o̷w̸ ̷a̶b̵o̴u̷t̴ ̸m̵y̵ ̷r̸e̵q̴u̸e̵s̴t̶…̷̵̶

“yeah, yeah, you can talk to ‘im. but i’m coming along.”

He paused, surprised. That was a quick change of heart. He thought he’d have to use his knives.

“and as for the knives, if you use them you will have a bad time. got it?”

He couldn’t believe this puny monster was threatening him. But he finally got what he needed, so he bit his tongue. This was time-sensitive.

F̶i̶n̶e̴.̸ ̴W̵h̷e̵r̵e̶ ̶i̵s̵ ̸h̵e̶?̸ ̵ ̷

“come on then, follow me. so where ya from?” They walked through the halls of the Lab.

C̶l̵a̶s̶s̶i̶f̴i̵e̷d̷ ̵i̶n̶f̴o̶r̵m̴a̷t̶i̷o̶n̷.̸

“so you’re not from around here. what, you from another universe? dimension, plane of existence? do you know the player?”

He blinked a few times. How the hell-

“so that’s a yes. you his roommate?”

So, Sean had spoken of him. He clenched his fist before sending out a clipped agreement.

“huh. interestin’. nice to meet you. you like knives? i see ya got a bunch there.”

God, would this guy shut up? He stared straight ahead, right over the monster’s head.

“so not a small-talk person. that’s fine. so why are you here anyway? what’cha have to say to the old man? he’s a bit worried about his wife you know, we haven’t seen her for a few hours.”

So, Corsiva was his target’s wife? Oh, he must be the Gaster of which she spoke of. And this must be either Sans or Papyrus. His hobby of listening actually got him somewhere.

I̶ ̵h̵a̴v̵e̸ ̷s̵o̸m̶e̵ ̶i̵m̴p̶o̸r̸t̵a̴n̷t̴ ̶m̴a̷t̶t̷e̵r̸s̴ ̶t̴o̴ ̷d̶i̷s̷c̵u̸s̴s̵ ̴r̴e̶g̵a̵r̶d̷i̶n̶g̸ ̶t̷h̴e̸…̵ ̷w̸h̵a̴t̴ ̵i̵s̷ ̸t̸h̸e̴i̷r̴ ̷n̵a̷m̶e̵?̷ ̴S̸a̴n̷d̵e̷r̴s̵,̶ ̴y̴e̴s̸.̶ ̷ T̴h̸e̴ ̶S̴a̷n̷d̵e̸r̴s̸-̵ ̴

He walked straight into a bone. Ow. The skeleton spoke, voice cold and clipped. “what happened to them?” Oh, so they knew each other. He turned to the skeleton, smiling widely in that crazy way he had perfected throughout the years.

W̵̢̩̗̭̅̏̍̚o̶̝̬̰̰̓̇̒ṷ̶̡͈̺̉̉͊͊l̶̢̖̤̗͑̇͐̋d̵̼̱̟͙̓͐͝n̴̩̰̞̼͋̑̽͝’̶̺̱͖͓͒͛̊̆t̴͓̯̻̳̂̎͠͝ ̷̖̰̤͋͆͋̓ͅy̷̡͕̯̅̄̒̕͜ö̶̗̘̝̰́̂̕͝ȗ̷͔͓̙̫͆̍̔ ̶̢̹̪̝̒̇̀̈́l̵̗͍̤̻͊̋͋̈́i̴̯͙̥̥̽̍̕͝k̶̛̮̻͓͈̒̍͌e̵̳̫̺͙͆͛̕͝ ̵̭͈̱̈́͗̑̕ͅṱ̴̤̻̜̌͋͐͝ö̵͍̞͔̰́̄̓͛ ̴̨̡̮̥̋̏̋̌k̶͔͍͎̘̋̑̿n̸͈̮̩̿͒͗͜ö̶̙̥͍́͌̌̕͜w̵̢̡̧̳̾̒̈́̍?̷̡͈̝̑̂̑̏ͅ

He was whacked by a bone. Ow.

“i’d consider your next words very carefully. what. **happened. to. them**?”

F̶i̶n̸e̷.̷ ̴T̵h̸e̸y̴ ̶m̶a̴n̶a̶g̵e̶d̵ ̶t̷o̵ ̴g̶e̷t̷ ̶i̷n̸t̶o̸ ̶o̶u̷r̴ ̸w̷o̵r̵l̶d̸.̷

“how?”

T̵h̷r̵o̸u̴g̸h̷ ̴a̶ ̵p̴o̴r̶t̷a̶l̸.̵ ̶T̷h̵o̴m̵a̵s̷ ̸f̴e̴l̷l̸ ̶t̶h̸r̴o̸u̶g̴h̵,̴ ̶a̶n̴d̸ ̴t̶h̷e̸ ̶o̴t̷h̵e̵r̴s̷ ̴d̸i̴s̶a̷p̶p̸e̶a̶r̵e̴d̴ ̴w̶i̶t̸h̸ ̴h̵i̸m̵.̵

“all of them?”

E̶x̷c̴e̴p̷t̴ ̵P̴i̵c̴a̷n̶i̴.̵

“picani- their uncle? but why did they all disappear?”

In̷ ̶o̸u̷r̷ ̷w̴o̵r̷l̶d̸,̵ ̵t̸h̶e̷y̵ ̶a̴r̶e̵ ̷m̸e̴r̶e̴l̵y̸ ̷c̸h̷a̶r̶a̶c̷t̴e̴r̴s̷ ̵i̷n̷ ̶a̷ ̶Y̴o̵u̴T̴u̵b̷e̸ ̴s̸e̸r̷i̴e̷s̶.̸ ̵T̸h̶o̷m̵a̴s̵ ̵i̸s̵ ̸t̸h̸e̶ ̶o̴n̵l̷y̸ ̷t̷a̵n̷g̶i̵b̸l̶e̸ ̷ c̴h̴a̴r̷a̴c̸t̵e̴r̷.̴ ̷W̵e̷ ̸s̷t̶i̷l̸l̴ ̵d̴o̶n̴’̸t̷ ̴k̴n̴o̸w̴ ̶w̴h̶y̴ ̵P̴i̴c̶a̴n̸i̵,̶ ̵b̸u̵t̵ ̴w̶e̷’̶r̵e̶ ̶a̷s̸s̷u̸m̷i̵n̷g̷ ̸b̶e̷c̴a̷u̸s̶e̶ ̸t̵h̶e̸y̴ ̸a̶r̶e̸n̸’̷t̴ ̸v̵e̶r̶y̶  ̵c̴o̵n̵n̸e̷c̷t̷e̷d̷ ̴i̷n̵ ̴o̷u̶r̶ ̶u̷n̵i̵v̴e̵r̵s̸e̴ ̴y̶e̴t̷.̸

“yet? we? why-“

“Here you are Sans. Who is your friend?”

I̷ ̵a̸m̵ ̸A̵n̴t̵i̸.̵ ̸T̵h̶e̶ ̴P̸l̷a̸y̸e̷r̸’̸s̵ ̴r̷o̵o̴m̷m̵a̶t̸e̶,̸ ̵a̴n̶d̵ ̷b̴e̶a̷r̷e̷r̴ ̴o̶f̶ ̴n̸e̵w̷s̵.̶

“the sanders are gone dad. they went through a portal.”

“What? Through a portal you say?” His face fell. “So that was why the house looked so strange. What magic do you hold?”

I̶ ̴h̵a̶v̵e̵ ̸n̷o̴ ̴m̵a̶g̵i̴c̶.̶ ̵M̶y̶ ̴f̴r̸i̶e̷n̶d̶ ̵M̶a̸r̵v̶i̷n̸ ̶d̶o̴e̷s̶,̴ ̵w̸h̸i̵c̷h̵ ̵e̵x̴p̷l̶a̴i̴n̵s̷ ̷t̴h̷e̶ ̷h̴o̵u̴s̶e̴.̶

“Oh. What do you need me for?”

Y̸o̷u̶ ̴n̸e̶e̸d̸ ̶t̷o̵ ̵h̵e̸l̷p̶ ̸u̶s̵ ̴g̴e̴t̵ ̸t̸h̵e̶m̸ ̷b̴a̷c̷k̷.̶ ̵

 

\--------

 

Muffet was setting up shop. She glanced at the clock nervously. Remy hadn’t arrived yet, and he always came at 8:30 sharp. It was 8:45 and he had yet to come or text that he wasn’t coming. She jumped as the phone rang.

“Hello?~”

[hey muffet.]

“Oh, Sans! How nice to hear from you! Have you heard anything from Remy? He hasn’t shown up nor texted. You are in contact with him outside of work much more than I.”

[yeah, a friend of his told me about him. he’s had a family emergency. he must have forgot to text you. if i hear anything i can let you know, but sorry about that. i know you open soon.]

“Oh, don’t worry dearie! The simple stress relief has made my job easier. Have a good day now.~”

[see ya muffet. tootles.]

The line clicked off. She returned the phone to her apron and went around to flip the sign to OPEN. She hoped today was less busy than usual.

 

 

\----------

 

Roman walked around the Mindscape. He was trying to remember something. He couldn’t think of what, but it was something…. Something important. He’d have to ask Logic- Logan. He shook his head to jar his thought process. What was happening with him lately?

He felt restless, on edge- like he was back in the days where they didn’t know who The Player was- wait, what was he trying to remember again?

It probably wasn’t important.

Besides, Prince Roman couldn’t be deterred from his quest.

He had to make sure Thomas had the best life possible, even if Logic- Logan tried to stop his quest.

A Prince must not be detained from his duty.

 

_\-------_

 

Jameson woke up at Chase’s apartment. He recognized it instantly, having been over multiple times to play with Chase’s kids, but he was slightly surprised. Why wasn’t he in Sean’s apartment?

He sat up, the knitted blanket falling from him as he did so. He looked around, adjusting his vest and checking the time on his pocket watch. 5:37. He was constantly asked why he liked to use his timepiece rather than a more modern version, but he liked having something that didn’t have to be charged or replaced every few years.

He noticed The King sleeping in the recliner across the room, and he smiled. So, he had brought him over. He twirled his mustache absentmindedly, getting off of the couch and standing up straight. He always felt his height when he did this; you’d think he’d get used to his tallness after having it for his entire life, but he lived to defy expectations.

He looked around, searching for the owner of the abode. Chase walked out of his bedroom at that moment, reading a red robe and his signature hat. He yawned, nodding at Jameson.

“Hey James.”

Jameson waved, looking around in confusion. [Why are we in your apartment?]

The King looked up, apparently awake from his nap. “We have a few unexpected guests.”

[Then why did we leave them over there?] He sighed, disparaged at their lack of host etiquette. He grabbed his hat from the coat rack and went next door.

 

\-------

 

Virgil was playing with a Rubix cube and lying upside-down on the coffee table. Then the door opened, sending him tumbling to the ground in shock. The others were in Sean’s room, and he insisted that he stay out here. Besides, the room was getting crowded.

He landed on his head. (Ow…. Oh, Hey James. You don’t mind if I call you that, right?)

[Feel free. How did you get here? The King said guests… are there more of you?]

Thomas chose that time to walk into the room. “I thought I heard a conversation! It’s nice to see you! How are you feeling? I see you got a new vest!”

Jameson looked down. He was indeed in a new vest…. And it was bright pink with sequins and tassels. Dammit Chase. How had he not noticed this earlier?!

Virgil snickered at his expression. (That face… you had no idea, did you? Oh my god, that’s hilarious!) He got up and sat on the cabinets again. (I think Patton has some cookies in the fridge if you want some. They’re rather good, and he was stress baking. I can pay for any supplies he used if that’s an issue.)

[it should be fine, don’t worry. They make cookies all the time, so it should go appreciated. When did you two get here?] Jameson shrugged off his colourful vest and draped it on the couch. He grabbed an extra one, this time in grey, from a blue patchwork bag by the footstool.

(Seven, actually. About six hours ago. I solved your Rubix cube by the way. I can scramble it back if it’s a problem, but I couldn’t resist.)

[Wait, Seven?! Where are the others?] He slept for six hours? It seemed he had healed, so he supposed it was for the best, but that was a lot of wasted time.

Logan walked out at this. (Hello. You are healed I presume?)

He nodded, looking around. [So, who exactly is here?]

Virgil counted off of his fingers. (Logan, Patton, Thomas, Dee, Remy, Roman, and me. We were dragged through when Thomas fell through for some reason. It sucks. I’m super bored.)

They heard a knock at the door. Logan answered it, mostly because he was the closest.

(Hello?)

A man peered into the room. His eye glinted with curiosity, and his black trench coat swung with the movement.

“My name is Nick Fury. You need to come with me.”

 

 

 


	65. I have to be Stark with you…. I’m Fury-ous

“My name is Nick Fury. You need to come with me.”

They all stood there blinking for a few seconds. Then there was a flash of yellow and gold and brown, and he was lying on the floor asleep, Dee holding some golden powder in a gloved hand. He looked impressed at his accomplishments.

(Dang. That powder is not impressive at all Remy.)

[Thank you. Glad to see one of us retained our powers.] The voice came from Thomas’s hand, which was tucked into Dee’s pocket.

Wait- they kept their powers? (You lucky ducks. You kept yours?) Virgil rolled his shoulders, missing the familiar weight of his wings. (And why was there Nick Fury? Isn’t he from the Marvel Movies?)

Jameson’s mouth fell open. [These guys are movies in your universe? Commute must be so easy!]

(Yeah? Is it hard for you guys?)

[You have no idea.]

Thomas ran out of the room, eyes wide. “I heard a thud- wait- is that Nick Fury? What is wrong with this universe?” Then he saw Jameson. “Uh, I mean-“

[It’s fine. Your universe is weird as it is. I have no stones to throw.]

Thomas let out a nervous breath and looked towards the man slumped on the floor. “Uh, anyway. Why is he here?”

(We do not know. My apologies Thomas.)

(There are bound to be more people here soon, and we have freaking Nick Fury on Sean’s living-room floor! This universe is crazy!) He was wide-eyed and his hands were starting to shake.

(Virgil is right. There are bound to be more S.H.I.E.L.D operatives here soon. How do we wake up Director Fury?)

“But why is he here?”

(I don’t know. He said we needed to come with him, but we can’t leave the monitor so we had to contain him. Can you ask them what is going on using the book?) Virgil grabbed it and started scribbling things down, walking out to the monitor to glance at their response before returning.

(Wait, where’s Roman?)

“He went down to the Mindscape. What do we do now? Tie him up? I’m not very comfortable with that.”

Logan concentrated hard, and a few spindly purple cables appeared. Dee shook his head. (There is definitely a need. We just have to not be careful and not use psychological tricks.) He picked up the man and put him on the couch. (We should not get Roman out. Honesty is not the best way to go in this situation, then we can not interrogate.)

Virgil held out his hands in surrender. (If this doesn’t work, I’m blaming you.)

Dee’s eye flashed and he smiled. (If this doesn’t not work, I definitely do not have a second plan. After all, there is no way I couldn’t have done that without my magic, yes?)

Virgil shrugged. (Fair enough. Where’s Princey?)

Thomas made a summoning motion, and Prince Roman appeared. He looked take aback. (Why do we have Nick Fury on the couch?)

[He came here looking for you all and they made him fall asleep.]

At this, he jolted awake, immediately assuming a defensive position. “Who the hell are you people? What happened? Where are my reinforcements?” They looked at each other. Oh shit….

The door was blasted off of its hinges. Iron man walked in, arms outstretched and palms humming with unreleased energy. “Surrender or I will shoot! Get down on the ground now!”

They immediately vanished, leaving Thomas and Jameson to kneel on the ground.

“Who are you, a shapeshifter? Put your hands behind your head! Fury, get over here- I’m tired of doing your stupid job.”

“Shut it Stark, you know you love ordering people around.” He looked over the two of them. “What have we here? Who are you?”

“My name is Thomas, and this is Jameson. He can’t speak, so can he put down his hands so I can translate?”

“Do you have any weapons?”

“FRIDAY, do a search.”

{No weapons detected Sir. There are large amounts of trace magical energy however, although their composition seems to be humanoid.} a feminine voice came out of his suit for the benefit of Fury.

“So you’re aliens?”

{No, Director Fury. They are humanoids. However, the large amounts of magic suggest-}

  
“Then I don’t care. Where are the temporally affected zones?”

“You don’t order around my robots Fury.” There was a tense silence as Stark turned around and looked at him. “I can handle this. I’ll call you later.”

The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds. Thomas was tempted to summon the others but resisted.

Fury relented at last, sending him a glare. “FRIDAY, don’t forget to remind him for a debrief.”

{Yes Director Fury.} There was a hint of contempt in the voice.

He looked at the three of them once more before growling slightly and walking out of the door, placing it back behind him, the hinges broken and the door splintering.

Iron Man turned towards the two of you. “Now who are you? Don’t be shy. I detest shyness more than I hate Fury.”

Jameson cautiously lowered his hands and began to sign. Virgil translated for Thomas, easily being able to transcribe the signs.

“Well, Mr. Stark, Sir, my name is Jameson Jackson, and this is my friend Thomas Sanders.”

There was a muffled feminine voice inside Stark’s suit. “FRIDAY here can confirm that. Now, Mr. Sanders, who are you and why are you here? You obviously aren’t of this world.”

“Excuse me?”

“FRIDAY matched that name to another person. While he looks rather similar to you, there is an obvious age difference. And who were those other people that vanished as soon as I came in and told you to get on the ground?”

Thomas bowed his head, willing the others to appear. Virgil immediately booked it in the distraction, sprinting for the sliding-door with his wings trailing behind him. So, they could use their magic. He wondered why they couldn’t earlier. He was distracted as a blue beam hit Virgil. You heard a groan as he fell to the ground, stunned.

(Oww…. what the hell man…I’m tired of getting shot by people.) Jameson winced in sympathy as Patton ran over to help him up.

“Language Mr. Sanders. Now who are you?”

(We’re from another universe, no matter how absurd that may sound.)

“I’ve heard weirder. All of you?” How was he taking this so calmly?

(Yep!) Patton was bouncing on his toes, excited to be in the same room as Tony freaking Stark.

“Nope, don’t believe it. Where’s your bi-frost thingy? You’re Asgardian, right? They registered as human on FRIDAY’s scans too.”

(No, we are from an entirely different universe Mr. Stark. We came in through a portal created by manipulating the code of our universe along with the magic of this one.)

“Shit. Is this another one of those damn Infinity Stones?”

Well wasn’t he being hypocritical on language. Patton was keeping himself from delivering one of his signature glares. And failing.

Virgil rubbed his temples to try and relieve himself of the headache brought on by the stun-gun. (No, we are from a completely different universe. We don’t have Infinity Stones there, or superheroes, or all of this crazy technology. We just have magic and monsters and a self-preservation instinct.)

“Fine. How do we get you home before you cause any more trouble?”

(If we could do that, fair Knight, we would have departed long before you arrived.)

Dee had stayed silent. Tony noticed, gesturing in his direction. “Silent type, ain’t he?”

Dee looked up, sure to choose his words carefully in the presence of new people. (Yes. If I wanted to remind you of a certain person I would have spoken up long before now.)

(He’s saying he doesn’t wish to remind you of Loki based on his similar mannerisms.)

Tony glanced at Logan. “Do those include killing people?”

“What? No!”

“Okay then. Let’s find out a way to get you home. FRIDAY?”

There was a muffled voice inside his suit. “Huh. The bastards actually left. Remind me to send Mr. Nicky Minaj a gift. Maybe cheese. He likes that, right?” More muffled voice. “Perfect. All the better. So, anything you know now?”

(We live inside a video game!} Patton blurted out, then covering his mouth in shock. (Sorry. It’s just… yeah. We live in a video game.)

Stark looked surprised. “So how in the world did you get here?”

[And how the hell can I get out of this phone? It’s so boring you have no idea.] Stark looked for the noise. Thomas handed over his phone, where Remy was sitting in the lock screen. He looked impressed.

“How the hell did you get in there?”

[If I knew I’d be out of here! There’s only so much you can do in a phone with zero apps!]

“Look, I said I was sorry!”

[Sorry doesn’t get me entertainment hon! Only money and the App Store get me something to do! And I want a Frappuccino!]

Tony looked amused. “How ya doing in there little buddy?”

(He is not a child Mr. Stark. While he appreciated the gesture, I’m actually the youngest one here. He is the oldest along with Dee. So if you didn’t mind-) He held out his hand for the phone. Stark handed it over wordlessly, feeling a bit of… shame? Guilt? Nah, he hadn’t felt that in years. Not since Afghanistan. He buried it instantly.

“What’cha doing with it?” He glanced up for a split second before adding a battery-like device and something by the camera.

(It’s new technology Alphys created- it’s similar to that of a hologram, and I figured Remy may be able to use it so he isn’t cooped up in that phone the entire time.)

“Really? That’s pretty advanced technology.” He’d made something of the sort when he was eight, but that wasn’t the point. Logan shrugged.

(It’s not particularly complex, they just didn’t have the necessary materials until this point in time. It’s a simple addition to the battery to handle the extra power, and an addition to the camera to produce the hologram. I’m lucky I had these on me to add to my phone later.)

“Well, I’m sure Remy will appreciate it.” Thomas chuckled nervously. “Anyone know any apps I can download to my phone?”

Surprised laughter rang around the apartment.

“Well I for one am very glad you all weren’t hostile.” Stark said, stepping out of his suit. “I sent away his reinforcements on my way here- we would have been screwed if you were dangerous.”

(We are not dangerous to those we do care for.) Dee said. The underlying message was clear. And very dangerous to those we don’t.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and have a great day!  
> Man I love writing Tony. Fury will continue to be an ass though. I just can't write him very well. Sorry if you like him.   
> See you guys next time!


	66. Ace Of Hearts

Patton was making tea. Virgil was doing a rubix cube again. Dee was throwing around a quarter, doing impressive hand tricks. Tony was running diagnostics. Roman was in the Mindscape. Logan was monitoring the monitor. Thomas was loading apps for Remy’s amusement.

Dee threw around the quarter, catching it easily in-between his fingers. It was a skill he had honed through many hours of boredom and was very useful for boring situations. It faded away as he got up from his position on the coffee table. Tony looked up, curious at the display of magic.

“I see why you thought I’d remind you of Loki.” He nodded, flashing him a tense smile. _Didn’t he have a debrief to do?_

“Now, I’m wondering why you know of us in the first place. You knew of Loki without prompting, and Nicky Minaj over there too. How?”

(You do factor in our word, but as….. as characters, quite like we are here.) Man, the sheer mental force needed to not speak in riddles was exhausting. He noticed his fatigue.

“You okay Jack the Fibber?” He grabbed the mug that Patton offered and chugged it down.

(I… tend to speak backwards, and it takes a considerable amount of mental energy to not do so. It’s uncontrollable unless I put energy into stopping it.) He rubbed his temples from the slight ache that had formed. It fortunately faded a bit.

“Huh. You’re characters here?”

(Yes. Look up Sanders Sides and you’ll understand.) Yep, headache’s back. He sipped some tea, cursing internally. Was this what he had to do to gain power? He guessed so.

Well, some sacrifices had to be taken. This was a greater opportunity than he had bargained for. He could manipulate Iron Man.

His day just got better and better.

Granted, that was a low bar, because his day started out with him getting erased from existence and disappearing into another dimension. But hey, silver lining. Patton would be happy.

He was bored. He found himself playing with a quarter again. He sighed, tapping out a rhythm on his lap and fiddling with his collar. He forced himself to be still.

Tony stood up and went out to the balcony, presumably to talk to Fury. He sat in the corner, ignoring the others to listen to the conversation through the door.

“Hey Nicky.”

[Hello Iron Man.]

“We’re not on the field- call me Stark Nicky.”

[Only if you will not call me Nicky.]

“Not gonna happen.”

[Likewise. So, what’s up with the temporal disturbances? Everything under control?]

“Yep. Everything’s cool. Sorry about the knockout powder. One of them’s a bit trigger-happy, you understand, right?”

[If all we had to deal with were trigger-happy teens we’d be out of business. Anything else?]

“Not really. Just keeping an eye on them for the evening just to be sure, but everything’s fine. Go eat a donut.”

[I’m not a stereotype Stark.]

“Never said you were. Have a good night Nicky.”

[You too Iron Man.]

There was the sound of a door sliding shut, then Stark came back into the room, settling back into the chair he had left.

(That was not fast.) And back to the backward speech.

“Still unenjoyable.”

(Not true.) Man, he was exhausted, but Stark seemed to be keeping up. He realized just how tired he was as his eyelids drooped.

He waved a goodbye and faded back to the Mindscape to sleep.

 

 

\-----------

 

 

Marvin had taken down the shield a long time ago. Dark and Wilford were contained by the group and their need to get the others back, so there was a small chance of chaos letting loose.

But he still felt like he was sitting around doing nothing.

So, he decided to explore their city. This was a completely different universe after all, and why not take the time to enjoy it? They were still trying to think of a solution, and he couldn’t do anything right then.

So he went to Muffet’s. He heard that one of the teens worked there, and he was curious about the food.

But the first spider Monster he saw scared the crap out of him.

Muffet didn’t give him the creeps, but he may or may not have accidentally set his eyebrows on fire by accident in shock.

He kinda felt bad for the Monster. He didn’t mean to scare it. Granted, seeing anyone tear off a mask to put out their burning eyebrows would probably scare them.

He still felt bad about it.

Anyway, after gathering his wits and replacing his mask, he sheepishly ordered a drink and a cookie. He sat at a silver table to wait, admiring the pink roses in front of him and looking at the inhabitants of this universe.

There were a few skeletons- two of them sitting together in the corner and a tall one ordering a coffee with a large pink robot.

A small cat monster came over, looking at his mask. “Are you a magician?” He smiled, pulling a card from thin air to the delight of the kitten. “Wow! How did you learn how to do that?”

He spun a quick tale- one of treasure and pirates and battles with knights and castles. He was enraptured, and Marvin soon had a crowd of three or four kids by the end of it, Monsters and humans alike.

“- and they journeyed home, the golden rays of the sun at their back and the spirit of adventure in their hearts. They had won the right to use magic that day, and their tales would be told up and down the coast for years to come.” He smiled at the wide-eyed kids. “And that is how I got my magic. Hard work, sacrifice, and the luck of the stars guiding me to where I was destined to be.” He looked at his watch. “Time waits for no one. Good day fair folk, I hope we meet again.” He left the café with a wave to the staff, depositing the trash in the proper bin. 

He walked the streets, looking at the stars. It had quickly grown late, and it was quiet uptown. He heard a rustle, and saw a shadow following him. He turned, only to see a thin white cat following his trail. He smiled, kneeling down to pet the creature. “Hello there kitty. Do you have a home?” He searched for a collar or tag of some kind. The cat seemed like a stray, and it clung to the warmth of his arm. He picked it up with a smile, and it draped itself over his shoulders like a scarf.

He went back to the house, where Anti and the others were playing Jenga and Uno.

“Hey all.”

“You’re back! How was the trip?”

“Not bad. I got a cat.”

|Wha- really?| Dark looked at the thin cat draped on his neck with a critical air. |Hey Picani, do you by any chance have any-|

“Oh it.” He handed Marvin a few cat treats. “Patton has brought the occasional stray animal home and, even though he's slightly allergic to cats, I learned to keep a few random pet foods around. I have more if you need them in the pantry.” The cat meowed gratefully, ate the food, them went back to sleep on his neck.

“̶W̷h̷a̵t̶ ̵a̴r̸e̸ ̵y̶o̸u̵ ̴g̵o̶i̸n̷g̵ ̸t̶o̴ ̷n̸a̴m̷e̶ ̵h̵i̷m̵?̶”̸

Anti’s voice has adopted an air similar to Sean’s normal voice, soft and curious. He must really like cats.

“I don’t know. Thoughts?”

|Chica.|

“Nah, I’m not really feeling it. Sorry Dark. What about Ace?”

They thought about it.

“It suits you. Marvin and Ace. Magic and cards. I like it.”

“It is quite a good name. I was going to suggest Pearl, but I like that better.”

He scratched the cat under its chin, happily surprised when it nuzzled his face in return, apparently not even caring about the mask he wore. It clumsily got up and leaped to the floor, searching for more food.

|Now, now, now, Ace. No more food for you.| Dark’s voice was almost warm. Anti shot him a look.

“̶R̴e̵m̵e̶m̷b̷e̴r̴ ̶w̶h̵e̴n̸ ̴y̴o̵u̶ ̶f̸o̴r̶g̴o̸t̸ ̶t̷o̴ ̶f̸e̴e̷d̴ ̴C̷h̵i̵c̴a̴ ̵w̷h̷e̷n̸ ̷w̷e̴ ̵w̶e̷r̷e̶ ̴f̴i̵g̴h̴t̴i̵n̸g̸ ̵t̴h̸a̷t̷ ̴o̶n̴e̵ ̶t̶i̴m̷e̷?̷”̶

He was smiling mischievously. Dark scoffed at him. |That was Mark, not me. You know I-| He broke off, realizing he had said too much.

Jack raised a brow. “Dark? What is your relationship with Mark? I know you know each other.”

He would have paled if he wasn’t already monochromatic. |You know your relationship with Anti?|

“Yeah. It’s complicated. Don’t tell me-“ He was looking at the man in disappointment.

|Well, it’s… similar.|

He looked like he was forced to say it, but at the same time a great weight had been lifted off of his chest.

“I thought you and Anti were brothers?” Picani ventured.

Anti shrugged, looking at Sean. “Well, it’s a bit more complex than that. We say we’re brothers because it raised fewer questions and makes life easier, but it’s more of a… hosted thing.”

“English?”

“̶I̴ ̷w̴a̷s̵ ̸c̶o̵n̴t̴r̵o̸l̶l̶i̵n̵g̶ ̵h̸i̶m̴ ̵f̶o̵r̸ ̶a̶ ̶w̶h̶i̸l̶e̴.̸ ̷W̵e̸ ̵b̴r̶o̵k̸e̶ ̸a̴p̶a̶r̴t̵ ̴a̸ ̵f̶e̶w̴ ̵m̵o̶n̷t̶h̷s̷ ̶a̷g̵o̵ ̴t̴h̶a̴n̵k̴s̵ ̸t̶o̴ ̵M̷a̵r̷v̶i̴n̴.̵ ̵S̶e̶a̶n̸ ̵do̶e̶s̵n̸’̵t̴ ̶r̶e̵m̶e̵m̸b̸e̴r̴ ̸t̸h̷e̵ ̶s̶e̴p̷a̴r̵a̵t̶i̵o̶n̴.̸”̴

“I thought you didn’t either! You knew?!” Marvin was shocked. The spell must have worn off...

“Was zis a medical procedure?”

“̸N̷o̷,̸ ̵I̸ ̸w̴a̷s̸ ̸m̸a̵g̶i̴c̷ ̸S̴c̸h̶n̵e̴e̶p̶.̶ ̴M̴a̶r̷v̴i̴n̸ ̸h̵a̷d̷ ̶t̴o̷ ̴h̵e̷l̸p̶.̵ ̸I̸t̸ ̷w̷a̷s̴ ̸m̸a̴g̶i̶c̶.̵ ̷A̷n̶d̷ ̴a̸s̸ ̴f̵o̵r̶ ̴t̶h̵e̶ ̴k̶n̶o̸w̸i̶n̷g̵ ̸p̶a̶r̴t̷,̶ ̷ I̸ ̴r̶e̸m̶e̷m̸b̴e̸r̸ ̴a̶ ̷l̵o̴t̵ ̷o̷f̸ ̵t̸h̶i̴n̶g̸s̵.̸”̵\

Well that wasn’t ominous. Marvin sat down in the nearest chair, and Ace leapt up to go into his lap. Man, for only meeting the cat an hour or so ago, it was really friendly. He scratched it behind the ears until it purred. The cat was skin and bones. He hoped that his landlady would let him keep it. If she didn’t he’d move in a heartbeat. The cat had him under its spell.

He flipped open the book to look for anything they had written. Although it wasn’t the best communication system, it would do for now. He looked for the signature purple text that Virgil used. He seemed to be the one to write in the book the most. What he saw surprised him.

 

 _With Tony Stark. Everything’s fine. Camping out in the living room. We knocked out Nick Fury, but Stark handled it. Hope everything’s fine. Logan wants to know more about the time differences. We’ve only been here 8 hours._ Wait- what?

 

New text appeared, making him smile.

 

_Oh, by the way, Patton likes the cat. Roman likes the name. Dee and Stark are friends despite how similar he is to Loki. Logan still wants the time data. No rush though. Have a good evening._

 

You too. You too.

 

 

\-------

 

 

So Dark was controlling Mark. As a friend of Mark and as someone who had been in a similar situation, he could relate. He wasn’t sure whether to feel angry or not. Sure, Mark had very little free will- and he would never wish that on his friends, but he also knew Dark had little to no choice on the matter. Mark, like Jack, was a medium- a person heavily connected to the magical world. Demons such as Dark and Anti were known to attach to them, feeding off of their life energy and, when that ran out, their memories.

He sighed, looking over at his Demon brother. Well, he was really more of a demonic friend, but the name kind of stuck after a while. Anyway, Anti was glitching in the corner and talking to Marvin and petting his new cat. 

It wouldn’t be hard to get a place for the cat- maybe Marvin could even move into their apartment? They were going to move into a house soon anyways with a few friends, and knowing who they were they would like him, if not for his magic tricks alone. Sean was completely hopeless with them, no matter how much he tried. Of course, he wouldn’t admit that to anyone but his fans. He had to have some pride intact, even if they would watch it anyway.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by Picani heading towards the door, coat in hand and a determined expression.

“Where ya going?”

“PTA Meeting. First Wednesday of the month. Anyone want to come with me? I fully understand if you don’t. I was roped into it, to be honest.”

“What goes on at zis.. PTA Meeting?”

To your surprise, Schneep was looking interested. Well, he was a great person to call out other people’s bullshit, so that was a decent question.

Wilford looked up. “Should I go?” He looked at Dark for advice.

|You’d kill everyone in five minutes Wil.|

“Is that why you’re not going?” He agreed with the statement apparently, saying nothing to the contrary.

|No. I hate people. Too many annoying topics, stupid opinions and bad questions.|

“So you want to come Schneep? I was going to invite the Riverperson along too, if that’s okay. They shouldn’t mind an extra person.”

“Yes please. I am ze good doctor, and must work in the community, no?”

“Yeah buddy. So, the three of you are going to wreak havoc in a PTA meeting? Sans will be overjoyed. All of the questions about the teens will be annoying though.”

“Right. How should I respond?”

“̶I̷’̵d̸ ̴s̸o̸ ̷w̸i̸t̶h̷ ̸t̷h̸e̵ ̵c̷l̴a̴s̶s̶i̷c̷ ̸s̶i̴c̷k̴ ̸a̶p̶p̶r̸o̷a̵c̷h̴.̸ ̶S̶a̵y̶ ̴V̴i̷r̴g̵i̸l̵ ̶a̴n̷d̶ ̶R̶o̷m̵a̸n̸ ̵a̴r̷e̸ ̷s̸i̶c̷k̷,̷ ̴P̸a̴t̶t̶o̴n̶ ̶a̷n̴d̸ ̵L̶o̵g̵a̸n̸ ̶a̷r̸e̷ ̵ t̵a̶k̷i̷n̶g̸ ̷c̷a̸r̴e̶ ̷o̶f̷ ̸t̴h̸e̶m̵,̸ ̶R̸e̷m̶y̵ ̶i̷s̸ ̶a̵t̷ ̴w̵o̷r̷k̸,̴ ̶a̶n̴d̶ ̶D̴e̵e̸ ̵i̵s̷ ̵b̴u̸s̶y̷ ̷w̴i̸t̸h̸ ̸h̶o̴l̶i̴d̷a̸y̵ ̴s̸h̴o̵p̵p̶i̴n̸g̶.̶”̷

They stared at him. “That was off the cuff.”

“̵I̶ ̷t̶r̴y̵.̵”̶ ̷Anti shrugged.

Schneep grabbed his lab coat off of the hook by the door and the two of them stepped out onto the porch. “I shall return. Don’t die or get arrested.”

“You too buddy.”

The two of them stepped out.

There were a few seconds of silence. Dark took out his wallet.

|Five dollars that one of them comes home either injured or drunk.|

“̶Y̸o̶u̷’̴r̷e̴ ̴o̶n̵!̶”̴

 

\----------

 

Dee was washing his hands when he noticed something odd about his left hand. He looked at it more closely. Were those… scales? No, that was impossible. He rubbed at them with soap, but they didn’t budge.

They were skin-coloured, in an inch-long patch on the heel of his palm. He scratched at them. They didn’t come off. So he stared at them for a few minutes, the water running in the background from the tap. He jolted back to reality.

He dried his hands and rolled down the sleeve as far as it could go, putting on his yellow gloves. Nothing was visible. Good. Now he just had to find out why.

Why was he developing scales? Was this because of his magic? Was it taking a toll on him?

He went out to the living room, careful to hide his inner worry from the others.

He needed to talk to Tony. He was his only friend he could trust with this.

Wait- frack. He had a friend now. When had that happened?

Ugh, why was his life so complicated…

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. How're you guys doing? I'm fine. Hope you liked the chapter. I still have a decent amount to post until this book ends, but the sequel is taking a bit longer than I'd like to formulate. The posting chapter won't be affected for now, but I might end up narrowing it down a bit to once a week ten or so chapters from the end so I can build up a bit, not to mention how hectic the sequel's posting schedule is going to be... but I'm rambling again. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, and feel free to comment on ideas! Just because I have quite a bit written out doesn't mean I can't slip in things or put it in the sequel for more material to get things rolling, or just feel free to say things you like/don't like about this series! Or shoot, if you've noticed any plot holes or ways to fix any inconsistencies feel free to tell me. I love feedback, and the more constructive the better! I want to know what you guys are feeling about this! 
> 
> Have a great day, and thanks for reading!


	67. The Meadow

Dee was pacing on the balcony with Stark staring at him.

(…and now I have this stupid scale thing, and I-) He swallowed. (Dammit Stark I have no idea what to do.)

Stark looked contemplative. “And why are you coming to me with this?”

He paused, frozen, his face turned away from the superhero. Did he not want to help? Sure, he hadn’t put his usual amount of planning into this, but he thought that he had built a secure enough connection with the man that-

“It’s not like I won’t help you, I just want to know why.”

Oh. Okay.

(Well, my family is too close, and I have a sort of… rocky foundation with them for a number of reasons, all too long to get into.) And if he had any idea of who he really was, he’d not want to help, he was sure of it.

“Well, let me see it. I don’t know much about biology or magic myself, but I know a few experts on the subject.”

He pulled off his glove and rolled up his sleeve, so the man could get a better look. His eyebrows raised as he saw the scales. He ran a finger over them.

“Those are definitely scales. Let me talk to my friend Dr. Banner and I can probably get a second opinion if he isn’t too busy.”

He pulled out his phone and tapped a contact. Dee made sure the sliding door was closed. It was. He looked back to Stark, who had his phone pressed to his ear.

“Hey Bruce. Yeah, it’s Tony. No, nothing bad happened. Yes, I’m serious this time. Yeah, I just need your advice on something. No, it’s not something you know nothing about. Well, it’s magic, but you have a base in biology- you’ll understand it more than I will. No, it’s not Loki. Fine, take a look- I’m swapping you to camera.”

He gestured to Dee, and he stuck out his arm, palm up. Stark ran the phone over it a few times, then put it back to his ear.

“Yeah, it’s scales. No, it’s not on me, don’t be ridiculous. Here- I’ll pass you to the owner. Dee, come on over.” Stark handed him the phone. He steeled his mind, feeling the familiar ache in his temples.

(Hello?)

[Hello, I’m Dr. Bruce Banner. Do you know how you got the scales?]

(We have a few theories. First, we think it might be a result of my magic.)

[You can do magic?]

(Yes. Mostly illusions. It’s not that important. Do you know if I can reverse it? Or how long it will take before it spreads?)

[Well, to do that I’d need some data. Dee, you said?]

(Yeah, that’s me.)

[You remind me of someone I fought this one time. He tried to take over New York, and he’s probably a good person to talk to about magic. Ask Stark about him. As for the scales, I’d see if they spread if you use your magic then talk to either me or the guy I told you about. I don’t know what I can tell you- they’re definitely scales, and probably a result of your magic, but I don’t know if you can get rid of them. Did you notice them before now? How long have you had your powers?]

(Nothing before now, and about seven months.)

[Interesting. I wouldn’t worry about it too much but tell Stark if you notice it spreading. Good luck Dee.]

(Thanks Dr. Banner. I’ll pass you to Stark now.) And he did. As the two of them talked, he looked at the scales. They were small and close-knit- not something he’d notice most of the time. He took a picture with his phone, then rolled down his sleeve and put on his glove, looking over the balcony at the city. He heard a knock at the sliding door, and Virgil came out, leaning next to him on the balcony.

He looked over out of the corner of his eye and saw that his cousin was focused on the horizon.

(Are you not okay?)

(I’m…. okay I think. You?)

(As one could be in this situation.) Virgil raised an eyebrow. He amended his vague comment. (Good.)

Virgil turned, a smirk on his face. (What, can’t spare the truth for me?) He rolled his eyes in his direction, feeling a flash of annoyance.

(Yes, it does not give me a headache.)

(Oh. Sorry.)

(It’s not fine.)

They stood there, silent all except for Stark finishing up the call. Dee turned around and went back into the apartment.

He had a lot to think about, along with some searching to do.

He sank back into the mindscape.

 

\--------

 

Patton was wandering the mindscape. He supposed he could go to his ‘room’, but that didn’t really sit right. He didn’t want to put his feelings to the side, he just wanted to be alone. So, he wandered. Then he heard the sound of someone behind him, and he turned around. Dee looked surprised to see him.

(I was expecting you here.)

(The feeling is mutual kiddo.)

(I am not older than you. Why do you not insist on calling me kiddo?) He sped up to walk next to Patton, their footsteps echoing slightly in the expanse of the Mindscape.

Patton shrugged. (Why would I not? It’s my term of endearment, as Logan would say. Everyone has a thing kiddo. Do you not want me to call you that?)

Dee couldn’t say no to Patton. Sure, he had made himself look like his cousin, manipulated others in his image, use emotions against him… but he couldn’t say no to that face. Not anymore.

(I… I wouldn’t wish that you didn’t use that name, if you do not want to.) Dee bit his lip, turning his head away, awkward and nervous- like the child that he had been so long ago.

Patton grabbed his hands and pulled him through the mindscape, searching for something. Dee stumbled a bit, then sped up as he realized Patton wouldn’t slow, eventually breaking into a run.

(Patton? What are you-)

He saw colors and the faint sound of laughter. Dandelion seeds flew past him and Patton, whose eyes were focused ahead. The ground had changed to crunchy grass under his feet. It smelled like hot grass, and he felt the memory of that summer day wash over him as a phantom heat. He felt his hand being let go, but he had gradually slowed to a stop, his feet shuffling through the grass and his head up towards their surroundings, the bright, vivid light somehow not hurting his eyes. He heard the sounds of childhood laughter, and walked over to the source, in a daze that only buried memories could cause.

Patton’s feet crunched behind him on the grass, but he didn’t notice, focused on the scene.

The seven of them were playing on the edge of a field, playing tag and holding sticks. They were about eight or ten, with Logan probably being around seven. Virgil was sitting in a tree, along with Logan who sat at the base. Remy, Patton, Thomas, Dee, and Roman were playing tag and fighting with sticks like they were swords, while Virgil and Logan were calling out suggestions.

Dee watched them play for a while, completely silent. He relived the scene from his perspective at some points but was an onlooker to the perfect world they had all had back then.

Before he’d messed everything up. Before they’d gotten their magic, before monsters had come to the surface and people were as human as he knew they were.

Where they played tag, and did games, and made stories up all afternoon before going inside to eat watermelon or ice cream. Where they were kids and he didn’t have to worry about what anyone else thought. Before he learned how to lie, and he’d burned all the good bridges between all of them. Images flickered by the scene like ghosts- playing pirates and picking flowers and reading books and stargazing in the evening.

Before he was who he was. Before the world had made its impression on him. Before he had tried to get to the top. When they were all happy.

Before the magic and the politics and the injuries and the scales. Before all of the plans and the torment. Before they had all branched out in their own ways, and his had diverged from the others because of his attempts to force it together.

More ghosts floated past, along with the sounds and smells and feelings; the environment growing darker in the evening, then light again and so on. The last evening before they had gone to boarding school and they had sat around and talked until late at night until the fireflies had come out. Roman learning how to use his sword. Logan and Virgil sneaking out to look at the planets through a telescope. Thomas and Patton picking flowers and making flower crowns, and Virgil joining them to make one too. Years passed, their visits growing more and more infrequent and short, and then he came back into the picture with Remy. He was drastically different from the teen before, and their visits were less for play and leisure and more for talking and sitting.

He saw Virgil with his headphones sitting in the tree that had grown since he had done the same thing as a boy. More trips out with the telescope, impromptu stage performances in the meadow with music sung by Roman, studying with Logan, games with Remy and Thomas, old traditions maintained by Patton, and himself just as a figure in all of them. A faceless person in the background ever since he’d come back home, a shell. Not one feature of the old Dee was there, although he didn’t think Patton noticed. He might as well be a stranger by how much he did in that meadow.

Eventually the meadow slowed down, the ghosts growing fainter and the fireflies coming out as it neared evening once more. He came back into reality, the haze broken and a jagged hole in his being.

He flopped down onto the grass, not noticing the evening dew that seeped into his clothes, a remnant of the old place that they had made so many memories in. He stared into space, images flickering in his brain. Patton picked at the grass.

They both sat still, looking out over the small hill and into the area below, the space where so much had changed without their notice.

White dandelions and daisies grew over the field now, and he absentmindedly grabbed one and blew, the seeds floating into the windless air like bubbles. He flopped onto his back, spreading out his arms and legs, until he was positioned like a starfish to watch the seeds float. He heard Patton flop down next to him, two stars spread out on the grass of years past.

(Why did you bring me here Pat?)

There was silence interspersed with a soft sigh. (I figured you needed to visit the past too. You’re different than you were. I hope we all end up getting back to that time where we were happy.)

There wasn’t much he could say back to that. So, they lay there, silent, watching the clouds drift across the salmon-coloured sky. The night had passed, and there was the sunrise.

The scene slowly faded until it was just the two of them sprawled on the ground, feeling the faint feelings of long ago. Patton finally shook him from his past, helping him up and giving him a hug, in which he stood stiffly for a few seconds before placing one arm around the other’s shoulders until Pat broke away.

(How do you feel? Any better?)

He didn’t know. So, he shrugged and gestured to Patton, conjuring up a chair for himself and a beanbag for Patton. They sat in silence. Dee pulled off his right glove and played around with it. He left the left one on to hide his scales.

(Kiddo.)

He looked up. Patton had his serious face on.

(What’s wrong? You’ve been quiet.)

His chest hurt at that, and he put his gloved hand to it, pressing as if it would make the pain stop. The jagged hole the memory left ached, like it had carved out his heart. He shrugged and snapped his fingers, appearing in a different part of the mindscape. Sorry Pat.

He wrapped his arms around his chest and curled into a ball, trying to sleep.

He wished he was back in the meadow.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed that chapter- listened to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkdPRcY0k4o a lot while writing this and I think it influenced some things. Oh well. Thank you for reading and have a great day! Feel free to comment on things you like/ ideas you have/ questions you want to ask! I'm happy to answer!   
> See you guys next time!


	68. A Short Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short! This and the next chapter are really shorter than usual, but I hope you enjoy this bit that was less plot-heavy. Next chapter should be fun!

They drove up to the school and managed to find a parking spot close to the library. They got out of the battered red van, and looked around for the Riverperson, who had texted that they would meet them there.

Of course, Picani had no idea where they had gotten a phone or his number, but that was just like the Riverperson, so he didn’t worry about it too much. He saw a familiar blue car drive up, and out came Sans, Toriel, Frisk, Chara, and Flowey. Sans saw them and teleported over, causing Schneep to jump into the air with a squeak. Ah. They hadn’t met yet.

“Henrik, this is-“

“i’m sans. sans the skeleton. and you are?”

“Oh! My friend talked about you! Do you know ze Anti?”

“oh, yeah. interesting fellow. henrik, was it?”

“Henrik Von Schneeplestein. It very nice to meet you!” He shook the skeleton’s hand with vigor as Picani looked around for the Riverperson, who was nowhere to be found.

He felt a hand poking his arm. He looked down to see Frisk. “Oh? Hello there! Frisk, was it?”

They nodded, as small smile on their face. “Are you the Sander’s dad/uncle?”

He nodded, feeling awkward. He hoped they wouldn’t ask-

“Oh, cool! Where are they anyway?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, well, it’s kind of a long story there kiddo-“

“Zey are currently trapped in a parallel universe.” They all turned to face Schneep. “What?”

“That isn’t something you say, Henrik.”

*Or hear every day. So what, you were gonna lie to us old man?* Chara draped themselves over their sibling’s shoulders. Flowey hissed at the motion, mostly because his face was now in the range of Frisk kisses. Fortunately Frisk was too focused on the conversation to care.

“Old man? I’m not that old kiddo!”

*Only two types of people call me kiddo. Old people and Patton. You aren’t Patton, so I’m putting you in the first group for now. Where is Patton? I’m not gonna believe the portal thing without a better explanation.* Sans dragged a hand across his face.

“sorry about the kid. chara- they are actually in another dimension right now- we’re working on getting them out. but keep this hush-hush, okay?”

[You don’t call people old Chara!] Frisk signed to them, a frown on their face.

*You don’t usually flirt with everyone either, so I’m not gonna take your advice. I’m pretty sure almost everyone here understands ASL too, so signing to me isn’t keeping it hush-hush either Frisky.*

“Ooh, burn, as the kids say.” A staticky voice interrupted them, and he felt a breeze behind him. He turned around to see another skeleton- a tall one this time. “You can’t call anyone here old Chara.”

*Okay old man…* They groaned and got off of Frisk’s shoulders. The skeleton sighed, and held out a hand to Picani, who took it.

“My name is Doctor W.D. Gaster. I see you’ve met my son, Sans.”

“Dr. Picani. Nice to meet you- Gaster? Do you mind that?”

“That’s fine. Talking about project 64c-8, are we?”

“also known as Project S for anyone with a shred of common sense. but yes. any progress you can talk about here?”

“I’ll tell you later. Hello Riverperson!”

=The waters of time are lovely today. Tra-la-la.=

“hello to you to.”

=Like weeds do, he only came and grew back again. Tra-la-la. Good luck storming the castle.=

They drifted over to the doors of the library, not looking back to see if they would come along. Sans and Gaster disappeared. Picani locked the car and sprinted over, the others walking along at a leisurely pace.

They entered the room to the sound of people chattering, and signed the sign-in sheet. The kids and Picani immediately went to the dessert section for food. Someone brought those cheap sugar cookies they sold in the grocery store. Score. He grabbed two, some lemon bars, and a muffin and set the plate down at the main table, going over to look at the books. They had a decent selection. He’d have to go look for some of these at the library.

“Excuse me sir? We will be starting soon, if you wouldn’t mind coming to the table and away from the kid’s section.”

He nodded at them and went back to the table. He was used to judgement based on his childish habits, but he didn’t care all that much. He loved it, and it made others happy. Why were they to judge?

The last few people wandered in. Sans sat next to him on the left, and Schneep on the right. They waited for the President to show up. After five minutes of people looking at their watches, Linda finally came in, with a fake guilty smile plastered to her face to boot.

“Sorry all! I ran into some traffic on the way here, but if everyone’s here we can begin! Thank you for coming, I know the students have been out for a week or so now.” She surveyed the room as she pulled a coffee out of her purse- the real reason why she was late- and noticed the lack of Sanders and acquiring of new people. “I see we have some newbies! Let’s all start by announcing our names-“

Sans broke in-. “This is Dr. Picani, Riverperson, Dr. Schneeplestein-“ He was interrupted by  a laugh.

“Oh, I’m sorry- that’s your real name?” Linda collapsed into snorts. Henrik look over at her coolly.

“Yes it is. Does zat offend you? I understand zat sort of thing might be considered humor in a place like America- a place full of good, kind people and ze scum zat stick beneath zeir feet.” He flashed her a smile. “Shall ve continue onwards?”

She fell silent as people kept introducing themselves. By the time her turn had come she’d stapled the smile back onto her face, even though it seemed a bit crooked- like it had been slapped on in a hurry.

“And I’m Linda Daniels- PTA President. Well, now that we all know each other, let’s get started! I have quite a few things on the agenda today….” She started talking about boring stuff like Class Presidents and electoral votes and things he didn’t care about. His mind started to wander….

“And now on to a more interesting topic- the Christmas Dance!”

Picani raised his hand. “Shouldn’t it be called the Winter Dance? Not everyone celebrates Christmas. Other than the human traditions of Hanukah and Kwanza, there is the Monster tradition of Gyftmas-“

“Well, I’m sure I can try to get that approved for next year. Dr. Sanders-“

“Picani.”

“Pardon?”

“For the last time Mrs. Roz, I go by Dr. Picani. My brother was Dr. Sanders, and I am Dr. Picani to avoid confusion."

Riverperson spoke for the first time since the meeting started. =Names, names. What’s in a name? Some say a title, some say comfort, but all agree that it is theirs. Isn’t it a nice day today?= They stared at Linda with that unshaking gaze that emulated from the dark expanse from under their hood. Linda visibly swallowed.

“Well, the Dance will be coming up in a few weeks! We didn’t quite have enough time to schedule it during school hours, but at least we can celebrate it on the 21st! The fee to get in will be five dollars, no checks or cards, and they will have to dress formal. There will be a photobooth and food provided, and a certain-“ She narrowed her eyes at some smudged writing on her hand. “-Metatron will be providing music. We hope as many of you can attend as possible. We will now be taking a fifteen minute break- enjoy the food.”

She hightailed it out of the room as fast as possible, fake lavender perfume wafting behind her. If the woman had to use perfume, could it at least be essential oil based? The fake stuff smelled awful.

They all sat there awkwardly until the sound of someone sipping something loudly from a thermos shocked them into reality once more. They looked up to see Henrik drinking from a thermos.

“What? Not vun of you have good conversation skills. Sitting ducks, every vun of you.” He took another swig from his thermos, quieter this time. People slowly began to chatter. The Riverperson leaned towards their group.

=So the Sanders live with you? I didn’t notice any signs of them today.=

They all stared at the hooded figure, slightly surprised at the coherent strings of words that came from their hood.

=What? You don’t think I- be it grains of sand in a cup, or leaves in the wind, there are whales that live in the deep.=

They were confused before they smelled Linda’s perfume. Ah. She had returned.

“And yes, they do live with me. Unfortunately they are either sick or are caring for someone who is. I would have stayed home, but Logan practically forced me out of the door with a stern sentence of how I should stand up as a member of the community. He has a great future in debate ahead of him.”

He sighed, looking out across the library. Would they be home for Christmas? That stupid Christmas Dance?

He didn’t know if he could last so long without his children.

 

\-----

 

Logan paced the bedroom. According to his calculations, it was the 8th of December there. Dr. Picani was probably at a PTA Meeting being called Dr. Sanders, Gaster was probably working on some project he should be helping him with- and here they were stuck in another dimension.

Oh joy. What the perfect way to spend the Holidays. Granted, if they came home close to Christmas at the least he’d already bought their presents. He’d planned this for the whole year- he was going to make sure they enjoyed it. Nothing too out there, but not something they wouldn’t use.

It was only logical after all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and have a nice day!


	69. Ready As I'll Ever Be

Virgil was worrying.

While that was nothing new, he was tired of biting his nails and soon having nothing to bite on. Pens leaked. Pencils broke. Popsicle sticks soon became wood pulp. Gum soon became tasteless.

He groaned and shifted on the couch, now upside-down. Thomas spared him a glance. “You okay Virge?”

He nodded. (Living up to my title. Have any ideas-)

(WE’VE DONE IT!)

Virgil fell to the side, up in a second. (What? What’s wrong?!)

Roman gestured to Logan, who stood beside him with the magic book under his arm. (We have managed to find a variant of the spell that would make it so we could get home. It may take some time-)

“Guys, that’s fantastic! How much time? Do the others know about this? What about-”

Logan’s voice stopped him cold. (Three weeks at the earliest. Maybe with the proper supplies less, but I can’t contact Marvin on what he did to speed up the process. I can decipher some of his notes, but others are not in a code I can crack. Not to mention that the power needed will be enormous, along with the materials we need.)

He opened the book to where he had stuck a note with the stuff they had. (We have over half of what we need, but there’s a problem.)

“Well what is it? Don’t tell me-“

(No, not blood other than a couple of drops. Don’t be cliché.)

“Then what is it?” Dee and Stark had wandered back into the room.

(The problem is memories. They have to hold some special significance to what made the person who they are-)

(I’ll do it.) They stared at Dee, who was twisting his hat in his hands. He looked up. (What? I have a plethora to choose from. Why-)

(They aren’t supposed to be good ones.)

A flash of some muted emotion was swiftly buried in the depths of Dee’s eyes. Virgil wasn’t even sure he’d seen anything.

“I don’t know if that will be a problem. I have some if you’re desperate.” Stark shrugged, ruffling Dee’s hair. Dee’s immediately put his hat over it, trying to smoothen it out. Stark laughed. “You remind me of a kid I know. Anyway-“

(Mr Stark, I will not- or rather, cannot- take you up on your offer. The memories have to be of one of the traveler’s-)

“Then why do we-“

(Hey kiddos! What are we arguing about?)

Thomas took out his phone at the vibration. [Jeeze, finally hon! Check your phone more! I vote we let Dee do his thing. He meets the criteria of that fancy spell, does he not?]

(Yes- but the contents of the memories-)

Dee spoke up, hands interlocked at what Virgil could see was a veiled attempt to hide his nervousness. (What do I have to do?)

 

\----Two weeks later----

 

Patton and Roman was drawing the correct shape on the wall. Logan was messing with code on the computer. Virgil was collecting supplies. Stark was talking with Dee on the balcony. Thomas was talking with Remy through his phone.

Dee turned back towards the sunset.

“You sure about this champ?”

He shrugged, looking at the man in iron. Or rather- ‘a gold titanium alloy’. (Ready as I’ll ever be.) Stark clapped him on the shoulder, and he had to fight back a slight wince.

“Well if you ever make it back here under better circumstances, feel free to come to the Tower. You might just land yourself a job.”

He raised a brow. (What, to the fake magician with an aversion to telling the truth? You can’t be serious.)

“When was the last time you’ve caught yourself telling a lie?”

That closed his mouth, his teeth giving a decided snap. He had to think about it- and that was the explanation in itself.

“And as for the fake magic, I wouldn’t call some of the stuff I’ve seen you do as fake. It looks real, yes? Why can’t it be real?”

Dee buried his face in his gloves, his hat riding up on his fingertips. (You don’t know all of the things I’ve done, I-)

“Well does that matter now?”

He shook his head. (It’s everywhere- everything I touch turns black- I’m surprised you haven’t yet, I-“ He took a slightly shuddering breath, and began to tell his tale. “I- It’s a long story, but-)

“Take your time. It won’t be ready for a while. They’re all busy- I’ve closed the door. Spill.”

He sat down on the ground and spilled.

 

\-------

 

The look on Stark’s face wasn’t what he had expected. He had expected hatred, aversion- but he just looked understanding. He knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s rough kid.”

Dee coughed- he had talked his voice raw, and was desperate for some water. He chuckled brokenly, resting his chin on his fist. (You think? And Logan doubted that I had any memories- I didn’t even get into boarding-school days. Just the recent stuff.) He cast an illusion over his face as Thomas opened the door. They both got up.

“It’s ready.”

And they walked inside.

 

\--------

 

Logan stood by the book, Virgil and Dee next to him.

(Okay, Virgil here is going to read the spell- it’s in Latin, so you have a better chance of being able to read it than I do. I’ll make sure everything is working, and Dee will concentrate on the memory- or memories- he wants to use. Everyone ready?)

There were a few nods. The others stood back, Stark in his suit if anything crazy happened.

And Virgil began, holding his hand over the series of salt, gems, and other ingredients on the floor and the wall. Dee thought and focused on the memory.

Virgil’s voice rang through the room, the strange words haunting in their complexity. Dee buried himself in his memories. A light filtered through his eyelids. His eyes opened, and he saw strange mixes of light. His eye was yellow, Virgil’s was glowing purple, Logan’s a lighter purple, Roman’s yellow, Patton’s green. The air was filled with runes as Virgil chanted. The light from outside- shoot, even from the arc reactor- was starting to muddle with the energy in the air. Thomas gasped as there was a horrible sound- a deep guttural tear- and the area on the wall opened up into a white portal, the colors of their respective magic flowing around the edges.

The energy around them abated slightly, and Virgil stopped chanting. The air was still. Stark let out a whoop.

There was the faint sound of something falling over on the other side. A head poked out. Marvin. His face broke out into a huge dopey smile upon seeing all of you.

Dee heard a faint ‘HELL YEAH!’ from the other side. The others ran through, all while Remy complained about being a phone. He was the last one left.

He turned towards Stark, who had an odd expression on his face.

(Hey Stark? Thanks.)

With a smile and a wave, he was soon home.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They've returned! Woop!
> 
> Thanks for reading as always, and have a great day! Thank you for all of the comments and kudos! They really make my day! Feel free to give positive criticism or ideas down in the void too if ya want. I really do appreciate it. 
> 
> See ya Space Cowboy!
> 
> ;)


	70. Nightmare Before Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "This chapter is twice as long as usual."
> 
> Heck yeah it is!

They fell through the portal. Immediately they felt… different. More complete yet not so at the same time. Remy was ecstatic, moving his arms and legs and cheering.

“FINALLY! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW CRAMPED THAT PHONE WAS HOLY MOTHER OF MOTHBALLS!”

Picani had swept the closest of the teens up in a crushing hug. “If you ever pull a stunt like that again-“

“Sorry Picani.”

“Sorry Dad.”

“Well it was actually not his fault- my apologies for our extended absence.” Logan joined the hug. 

|Well, well. Welcome back.|

W̵h̵a̵t̶ ̴i̷m̵p̴e̵c̷c̵a̴b̵l̷e̷ ̷t̸i̴m̵i̵n̷g̵.̴

Dee looked over at the clock. It was about three-AM. “Why are you awake? It’s three in the morning!”

“Because it’s Christmas and they waited for us to come home.”

His jaw dropped, as did Patton’s and Roman’s. Virgil ran upstairs, presumably to grab his presents. The others followed him, scrambling up to their rooms.

Dee thought. He had to get one for everyone, right? Not to mention he should get one for Stark at some point- it was only the 19th there. What about Jameson and the King and Chase? Hmmm. He concentrated, and waved his hand. A number of presents appeared under the tree, and he felt a slight itching sensation on his left hand. So it was connected to his magic. He moved upstairs to get the ones he had already collected before they had left.

 

\------

 

Everyone sat in their living room, sitting either on the massive couch, the assorted chairs, or the floor. Logan and Roman were sorting the gifts while the smell of cookies filled the house.

Soon all of the presents were sorted. Patton was ecstatic with his cooking supplies and recipe books, along with the scarf Dee had made him and the card Virgil had drawn. Logan gave him a joke book with science puns, and the egos had gotten together to get him a stuffed cat that looked like Marvin’s. It even had realistic fur.

Logan got a large amount of books, such as the signed copy of Leviathan, a different joke book from Patton, and a binder with pre-written flash cards from Virgil and Roman. Dee gave him a deerstalker hat. The egos gave him a booklet full of answered questions about their universe, both magic and otherwise. Picani gave him a fancy pen that Marvin enchanted to never run out of ink.

Roman got a bejeweled half-mask from Marvin, a fancy red robe from Logan, a hat with SIR-SING-A-LOT on it from Virge, and a Disney plushie from Patton. Dee gave him a crown that The King would covet.

Virgil got an assortment of gift cards, but he seemed happy. Dee had missed the memo and got him a black scarf, but he still seemed to like it. Patton made him a card.

Picani got an assortment of #1 Dad and #1 Uncle stuff as usual, and he was super happy with the Disney theme. He’d put it in his office for sure.

Remy got coffee gift cards. That was something Dee had planned for in advance.

And Dee got a cool half-mask from Roman that looked like a snake, a trench coat from his brother and Virgil, a card from Patton, and a mirror from the egos. When he asked what it was for they all smiled and kept silent.

That wasn’t ominous at all.

“If this is a ‘mirror mirror in my hand who’s the fairest in the land’ kinda thing I might just lose it.” He said jokingly.

Marvin smirked. “No, no- the mirror sees the truth. If you have an illusion on it’ll see through it. If someone’s lying while holding it it’ll flash. That kinda thing. Don’t be so dramatic.”

Roman smirked. “Yeah, that’s my job. Let Jekyll and Snide over there have fun with his gifts. Open your stuff!”

They all stared at the pile in front of them in confusion. “What?”

“Ve have gifts?!”

“You didn’t have to-“

“Yes we did!” Patton was petting a cat- he couldn’t tell if it was the real one or not.

|I tried to kill you. Why do I have-|

“Because it’s Christmas! Now open up. The ones over there are for King, Chase, and Jameson.”

They tore open the paper. Sean got a black beanie with a green heart on it. Wilford got a gold bowtie and suspenders. They’d gotten King a jar of peanut butter- he would probably like it given his love for peanut butter. Jackieboy Man got a new cape- he tested it out by jumping around on the roof like a maniac. Chase got exotic herbal teas- he hoped the man was a tea drinker and not just a trickshooter with them- he would hopefully like that. Dark got a cactus to everyone’s amusement. Jameson got a new vest- hopefully he liked violet. It wouldn’t clash too badly with his hair, would it? Marvin got a handmade joke book from Patton.

Anti got a knitting set. He was actually kind of amused? Well, at least he didn’t kill anyone. Schneep got a BEST DOCTOR IN THE UNIVERSE mug. Jack whispered something to Dark about how he’d give his roommate something at their Christmas? He had no idea what it meant but it seemed to make Dark happy.

“Hey Dark? I like the new hair. Red suits you.”

Evidently someone else had noticed. Dark grabbed at his hair like he hadn’t done anything.

|Shit. I’ll be back- sorry.| He elbowed his way out of the room, Sean close behind.

The room had settled down to a silence.

“Anyone know what that was about?”

Roman shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe it was the comment on the hair? I mean- I was right, it suits him, but why-?”

“Why did he act like he hadn’t done anything though?” Dee had meant to say this silently, but ti seemed to have leaked out. There were a few confused noises.

“I̴ ̸h̷a̵v̵e̶ ̴n̶o̵ ̴i̶d̴e̸a̷.̷ ̶H̸e̷’̷s̸ ̸a̵l̴w̵a̶y̴s̶ ̴c̵o̵n̵f̴u̵s̷e̶d̸ ̸m̶e̸.̴” ̶

“Wait- Anti, you and Dark knew each other? How long have you guys been friends?”

Anti laughed that strange high pitched giggle of his.

“F̶r̸i̶e̵n̵d̴s̸?̴ ̶H̷a̶h̸!̷ ̶T̵h̵a̶t̶’̶s̵ ̷h̴i̵l̴a̵r̷i̸o̴u̸s̷.̵ ̷

 

“Anti that’s enough.” Wilford was sitting up, new bowtie glittering.

“̷O̴h̸ ̴s̴h̶u̶t̴ ̵i̶t̶!̴ ̸Y̶o̵u̶ ̸k̴n̶o̷w̶ ̷I̸’̸m̸ ̸j̷o̷k̵i̷n̶g̵,̸ ̷M̷r̴.̴ ̵‘̶T̶h̴i̶s̵ ̵i̶s̴ ̷a̴l̶l̷ ̵a̵ ̵j̴o̴k̷e̷!̷’̸ ̵L̴I̶F̶E̵ ̵I̶S̴ ̴A̵ ̸J̶O̶K̷E̶!̸ ̷W̵e̷’̴r̵e̵ ̵a̵l̸l̴ ̴p̶l̷a̵y̸t̸h̴i̷n̷g̸s̵!̸  ̴W̶e̴’̷r̴e̵ ̵n̶o̵t̵ ̵r̵e̵a̷l̵!̸”̸ He waved his hands around, almost hitting Wilford with the knife.

“ANTI!” A man who looked remarkably similar to Dark came in. “Knock it off or I’m going to have to sic the Jims on you!”

T̵h̶o̸s̷e̷.\\.|.u̴g̵h̷.̶ ̴F̷i̵n̴e̵.̴ ̶S̵p̴a̵r̵e̶ ̴m̵e̵!̴ ̴He stalked out the door, digging the knife he held into the doorframe as a signature.

The man just kind of stood there, shaking his head. His red hair bounced.

“Sorry about all of this. In the middle of Christmas too!”

“It’s fine…. Mark? When did you-“ Marvin’s face fell. “Don’t tell me-“

“ **What the hell is going on here?!** ” Virgil’s voice echoed, and all of the Sanders winced at the energy that seemed to radiate from the teen.

Logan adjusted his glasses nervously. “I believe it is safe to assume that you are the missing Mark, also known as Markiplier. Welcome back, I guess. Was that-“

“He possessed you didn’t he?” Dee nervously wrung his hands slightly. “I didn’t see the signs, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t pull any mind tricks. I should have-.” His voice softened slightly as he realized what the man had gone through. “I’m sorry.”

“Now I won’t have anyone blaming themselves! We have a lot of complications here, and nobody here is going to have the luxury of blame! Now sit down and I’ll prepare some more tea.”

They all sat, Mark sitting down in the abandoned chair. Dee flicked his fingers and a gift appeared in the man’s hands.

“Sorry it’s not that good, but I didn’t have that much time but its Christmas and-“ He put his hands over his mouth to stop his nervous rambling. It seems that Virgil’s usual nervous energy had more of an effect on him than he realized. In the meantime Mark had pulled out his gift- a Tiny Box Tim. Mark went to study it closer… and its painted eyes opened.

“Holy- you made me a Tiny Box Tim?!” His voice had gone up about fifteen octaves at the end as the box wrapped his fingers in a hug. It was about the size of an apple, and was freaking adorable. Dee hadn’t even meant to make it alive, but hey, it was a bonus.

His thoughts shuddered and stopped as his eyes widened. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t even think-!” He waved his hand and a tiny Septic Sam of about the same size appeared on Jack’s shoulder, causing the man to yelp in surprise.

“Holy sweet cheesus!” The eyeball blinked a few times before slithering (?) into Sean’s palm, seeming to smile up at the youtuber.

All eyes seemed to land on Dee. Normally this wouldn’t have bothered him, but he found himself majorly freaking out and shouldering his way upstairs, mumbling apologies and his hands shaking slightly. He closed the door to his room and sank to the floor, head in his hands.

He managed to collect his thoughts enough to breathe. Why was he suddenly freaking out? Was it Anti? No, that wasn’t even in the top five list of crazy things that had happened. Maybe Virgil’s random cloud of anxiety had affected him more than he thought? Nobody other than his family had been affected… maybe it was a random symptom of the time that they had been connected to Thomas? It seemed likely. He just didn’t know-

There was a knock at the door behind his back and he jumped. He scrambled to his feet and opened it to see Marvin, who was holding some of the gifts Dee had gotten. He seemed about to speak when he paused in confusion.

“Are you wearing eyeshadow?” Dee grabbed the mirror and looked. Huh. He wiped it away with his glove.

“Uh, thanks for bringing up my stuff. Sorry I kind of ran out on you…” He stepped aside and the magician entered the rather bare room. Marvin put the stuff on the dresser next to the full-length mirror. Dee gestured to the bed, closing the door. “Have a seat if you’d like.”

Marvin gave a smile and did so, adjusting his mask slightly. “You okay?”

He blinked. “I guess? I dunno- I guess I’m still feeling some anxiety from the whole connection to Thomas thing through Virgil. Did you guys feel any random anxiety spike or was that just me?”

“I got nothing… strange. Anyway, I came up here to both deliver your gifts and ask you about the Tiny Box Tim and the Sam-“

“Oh, did I do something wrong or-“

“No, no, nothing like that. Don’t be so nervous.”

He rubbed at the back of his neck. “Sorry. Virgil still must be more nervous than usual or something. I’m sure I’m not helping. Do you want one?”

Marvin froze for a second before shaking his head. “No, that’s not what I meant. How did you do that? That’s really complicated magic.”

Dee stopped fiddling with his gloves. “Uh, okay. You know I can create illusions. I can make things solid too. I can change my appearance, and well… some other stuff.”

Marvin had sharp ears. “Other stuff? Such as what?”

“Limited mind control…” He muttered, looking down. “But I haven’t used it in a while!”

Marvin just looked thoughtful. “But how did you make them?”

“Oh, right! Well, I figured if I could make solid things, I could make small things that were alive. I made a butterfly a few months ago, but I hadn’t tried anything until the gifts. I wasn’t even trying to make them alive to be honest…”

Marvin let out a 'huh'.“You have great potential. You just need to keep it in check. It appears that emotions can affect the outcome. I’d try to work on that in the future, speaking from personal experience.” The masked man got up. “But I’ve said my bit. You ready to come down?”

“Oh, sure. Let me just put my gifts away. I’ll see you down there.”

“Sure thing.” Marvin left the room.

Dee faced his mirror, pulling off his left glove and pulling up his sleeve. The scales had spread, forming a sort of bracelet shape around his wrist then spreading slightly up his forearm, developing a slight green tinge. He pulled the sleeve down and replaced the glove. He turned to his mask. Eh, why not. It’d please Roman. He slid the hook behind his ear… and it fit on like a second skin. It had definitely been custom made. He totally had used Remy for the measurements. Perks of having an identical twin.

He smiled at his reflection then went down to the living room where everyone was chatting and drinking tea. Anti still hadn’t returned. Mark and Jack were comparing their universes, their laughter echoing around the room. Jackieboy Man was playing with Sam, and Tim was snuggling with Patton and Ace. It seemed Patton had found the real cat after all. Picani was rummaging around in the cupboard for allergy medication for later. Not a bad idea.

He found a spot next to Virgil at the base of the stairs. He nodded to his cousin, who was listening to music. Virgil raised one side of his headphones. “Hmm?”

“You okay? You seem… more anxious than usual.”

Virge shrugged. “Eh, you know, starts with a guy threatening to stab someone ends with a surprise guest. Just not the most relaxing day. I’m fine.”

He did seem to be more comfortable. “Mind if I sit down?” Virgil waved his arm and put his headphones back on, leaning his head against the wall. Dee settled down on the stair above him where he had a decent view of the room.

So he just rested there. Then Roman came over to throw an arm around his shoulders. “I see you like the mask!”

Dee smiled, ruffling his cousin’s hair. “Yeah, it’s very fitting.”

“I was partially inspired from the videos, but I also thought it was a very fitting animal for you. I’m gonna go bother Patton. You want to join me?”

“I might just help the cat escape his clutches so Marvin could take him home. Want me to make you something? I’m rather bored.”

“Surprise me.”

He found that something came to his mind easily. He winked, and a simple crown appeared on Roman’s head. The teen felt the weight and lifted it off his head to look. “Cool! Thanks Dee!”

He swaggered off to go annoy his brother. Dee watched Jack and Mark laugh at something the other said. He noticed a strange light come into Mark’s eyes, but it disappeared in a blink. He was almost sure he’d imagined it when Jack hadn’t noticed anything but then he looked at Virgil, who was eying Mark as well.

“You saw that, right?”

“You did too? So I’m not crazy.”

“Oh, we’re both crazy. You’re not crazier than I am though. Anything I can do? I’m not sure Dark is very happy with his exile.”

Virgil thought. “Unless you want to do some mind tricks I can’t think of anything. We don’t have that much information- no clue what happened outside...”

“Jackieboy was on the roof!” He sat upright in a second, seeing the man in the corner. “I’ll ask if he heard anything.”

He got up and moved over there before Virgil could stop him. “Hey Jackieboy! How’s Sam? Do you like your cape?” He poured a little extra charm into his voice to be sure he got the right information.

“Yep! He’s adorable! I’m feeling great- this cape is super aerodynamic! I was testing it on the roof when…” He trailed off.

“What happened? What did you hear?” He was almost positive his eye was glowing slightly, but it was also hidden slightly by the mask.

“Dark was arguing with himself. Then Sean showed up and said something- I didn’t quite hear what- he was whispering. There was a garbled noise- like static on an old radio- kinda like a shout? Then Sean said something like; “Mark! You’re back! God, I bet this universe has missed you!” and I snuck back in before they realized I was there.”

Dee relaxed. His suspicions had been right- Dark wasn’t happy. “Thank you Jackieboy. I know that must have been hard to hear. Relax and play with Sam, okay?”

The tension flowed out of the superhero’s shoulders and he focused back on the eyeball in his palm.

He was about to go back to Virgil when a weight on his foot stopped him. Sam was looking up at him, a worried glint to his pupil.

“Don’t worry Sam. Jack isn’t in trouble, and neither is Mark or Jackieboy. I just wanted the whole story.”

The eye looked at him for another second before rolling off and back to his playmate.

Dee went back to Virgil. “We were right. Dark isn’t happy.”

“I knew it.” His cousin sighed, leaning back and taking off his headphones. “Want me to clear the others out of here?”

“Patton, Logan, and the others? Please. I might have to use some mind tricks and I don’t want them to see.”

“Anyone else?”

“Maybe Jackieboy Man? I don’t want to scare him. And Wilford if you can manage it. If not I’ll find a way around it. Basically as many of them as possible.”

Virgil nodded. “Got it. Brace yourself.”

Dee strengthened his resolve as a pure wave of flight-or-flight ran through him. That kind of feeling that immediately set your nerves on fire and made you want to get out as fast as possible. Thomas, Patton, Remy, and Roman immediately paled and got up to leave, Logan trailing them, grateful to have an excuse to follow his gut. Picani followed them, wondering what was wrong. Jackieboy Man grabbed Sam and Tim and followed them, concerned on why they were so pale. Schneep noticed the max exodus and followed, eying Virgil and Dee with curiosity. Wilford saw the chance to sow some chaos and followed, his bowtie and suspenders flashing.

Mark and Jack made to get up, seeing as about two-thirds of the room had left. Marvin got up, standing in front of the closest exit. “Please sit down.”

Jack immediately sat down, surprised at why Marvin was acting so cold. Mark was a lot more hesitant, and it was only once both Virgil and Dee had gotten up and walked over did he sit down. Dee waved his hands and brick walls secured the exits. Solid brick walls.

Sean gulped loudly, eying Mark, whose eyes were slightly unfocused. He ran over to the exits, visibly distraught as he felt the very solid brick under his hands. He turned around.

“What is going on here?! Marv-“

“Jack, either sit down and be quiet or we will force you to. It’s nothing personal.”

Jack went very pale and sat down heavily in the nearest armchair. Mark turned towards them. “What the hell? I don’t even know you people-“

“And we have nothing against you. We are merely worried about your ‘roommate’, as you so accurately put it.” Dee’s voice was honey sweet, which did nothing against the ever-vigilant Markiplier. He turned towards the brick walls.

“Then why are we stuck in here?! I have him under control- I have-!”

“It’s nothing against you Mr. Fischbach, it’s just that we don’t think that that is quite accurate. He’s really very angry, isn’t he?”

Sean’s panicked voice came up from the armchair. “What? Mark, is this-“

|I have the right to be angry!| Mark threw his hand over his mouth, eyes wide. He swallowed thickly.

“What do you want to do?” The red in his hair started to fade back, and he grit his teeth against the pull of his alter-ego. “How do I get rid of him?!”

“There are multiple ways to go.” Marvin’s hands were clasped together, and he had the book from their basement in hand. “We can either do what we did with Sean in our universe, or we can permanently neutralize him.”

|You can’t kill me! Not while your beloved Markimoo is still alive!|

Mark clenched his fists, popping his neck.

“What do we have to do?”

Dee flashed a manipulative smile. “Warning.” God, he missed this.

He felt his eye light up and the man was instantly hooked as he looked at him in confusion. The yellow cables appeared, trussing him up like a prisoner. He turned to Marvin. “What needs to be done?”

The man stared at the ropes for a second before blinking at looking at the book. “It says here that-“

There was a deep-voiced triple scream as the manacles flew apart. He held a hand against the shrapnel as a wave of light broke over them. Sean, Virgil, and Marvin fell to the ground unconscious as the room turned monochromatic. He lowered his hand.

|Well, well, well. What a surprise.| The man seemed to savor each word. |The puppetmaster is going to have-| Dark adjusted his cuffs. |his-| A black and silver cane appeared in his hands, and the blue shadows elongated as his smile filled with malice. |strings-| The red shadows were virtually nonexistant, and his voice seemed to double instead of glitch. | ** ~~CUT!~~** ~~|~~

A sound like lightning filled the air as the man lunged towards him, eyes wild and animalistic. Dee tried to scramble out of the way when-

 

-BANG!-

 

Dee scrambled away as the man’s head snapped back and he crumpled to the floor.  Blood gushed from the wound smack in the center of the man’s forehead. Dee spun around, and was surprised to see Wilford, his arm still outstretched with a gun in his head.

“Wilford?” Marvin started to stir, his mask hanging off of his head. “What-?”

The monochromatic aura from the room had receded to around the corpse- but something strange was happening. The color started to return fully and the blackness seeped out of Mark as a hazy black smog that dissipated within moments.

Virgil and Jack started to wake up next, and Dee noted the broken window that Wilford must have used to get in. He’d fix that later. For now he watched Jack rush to Mark, evidently forgetting that this man was not the Mark of his universe.

“Mark!” The man put a hand to his friend’s arm to find a pulse. Wilford raised his arm again to shoot, but Virgil covered them with a wing and eyed the man in gold and pink. Either Wilford gained a sense of self-preservation or he changed his mind, because the gun returned to its place in his belt.

Dee heard Sean sigh in relief as the hole in Mark’s head vanished in a wisp of black smoke. Marvin readjusted his mask, but Dee didn’t miss the fact that the man rolled down his sleeves before speaking.

“He should be fine. However-“ He motioned to the brick walls, which were starting to grow loud with voices behind them. Dee nodded, and went over to the stairs. He ran up them, waving his hand to let the others in as the brick walls shimmered and faded. With a stray thought the window panes were restored. He climbed quickly to escape the tide of people, thoughts only on the cracked mask in his hands.

He'd have to fix it or Roman would be pissed.

He swept into this room, the door slamming behind him, the two pieces carefully tossed on his bed. He set his hat down on the hatstand by his door and spared a glance at the mirror. He was surprised to see a cut on one cheek where he assumed the mask must have cut into his face as it cracked in half. He grabbed a tissue from his nightstand and blotted at it, locking his door just in case someone walked in. He produced a bandaid from thin air and put it over his cheek, glad that it hadn’t gotten any dirt or anything in it. Just to be sure he’d wash it later when everyone was asleep. He didn’t want them to catch a glimpse if he went to the medicine cabinet, and he didn’t know the chemical structure enough to be able to replicate it reliably.

So he patched it up as best he could and sat on the bed so he could focus on the mask.

It had broken in half, the jagged porcelain edges sharp. Definitely how he’d gotten the cut. If it hadn’t been made for him it would have slipped off sooner. Roman was shallow and arrogant sometimes, but nobody could deny he was an amazing gift giver.

And he had to fix it up before he noticed. He had only gotten it this morning, and it must have taken a long time-

He put the pieces together, envisioning the damage that would have to be undone. It almost could be solved with glue except for the way the enamel had cracked. He’d have to fix it solely with magic.

He first bonded the area. He just wanted to make sure it was stable. He pushed as much hardness as he could into the glue, then tapped it experimentally with an ungloved finger. It felt like the rest of the mask… he waved his hand and the patch was covered, the new enamel seamlessly joining the old. He looked at it from all angles and slipped it onto his face. Like a second skin. Roman really had outdone himself. He’d have to think up something amazing as a thank you.

Speaking of thank you’s…

He looked over at his desk. He had to find something to give Stark- and he didn’t want to give him something that he’d made strictly of magic. Maybe a book? A drawing? He didn’t have any really smart books, and his drawing skills were sub-par.

He caught a glimpse of the plans he’d made ages ago. The maps, the character sheets based on what his family and friends may or may not do, the files.

Maybe he should give him a character sheet? Of who, Stark or himself? Either way it was kinda cheesy. What to give a man who could buy himself everything?

A personalized file? It was definitely something he could pull together- he’d done it on lots of people.

He walked over to his desk and cleared it off, grabbing one of his many manila folders. He waved his hand and the old plans he had made- the ones that he had let ruin his life- dissolved into light. He took a deep breath, envisioning the man he was going to give the most detailed gift ever.

Could Logan do cross-dimension hacking? Maybe he could add some stuff-

No, that was stupid and reckless. Stark could easily get his hands on that information if he had a brain even half as smart as his cousin’s.

No, he had a better idea.

He got to work.

 

\--------

 

He threw the mess of papers into a conjured shoebox- he was sure the man didn’t care if the packaging was pretty- and went downstairs by sliding down the banister.

And it seems nothing blew up in his absence.

Great.

Was this what Picani felt like all the time?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was a rollercoaster. Jeeze Dark, you and Anti really don't have any chill. You know, nobody has any chill. This is turning into a crackfic interspersed with angst. If anything it turns worse later. There's more angst! And more magic. And more fourth-wall breaks. 
> 
> Oh jeeze. This has been quite the ride. 19 more chapters to go! Have a great day, and thank you for reading!


	71. Back to Kansas (Or, well, not really)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short. Ah well.

Marvin had re-opened the portal to return home. They were all crowded around the wall except Mark, discussing future plans. Mark was sitting in one of the armchairs drinking tea, eying the portal nervously.

“Wait!” He pushed the gift into the nearest pair of hands- Sean’s. “Can you mail this? I don’t really know how else to get this to him-“

“You met Tony Stark?” Jack held the gift carefully.

“Tony Stark is a person in your universe?!” Mark was flabbergasted.

“Kinda- well, basically yes. Just find a way to get this to him, okay? I never really got to give him a present and-“

“Yeah, it’s no problem.”

Dee stopped himself from rambling. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, thanks.” He took a second look. “Wait, you all are leaving? What about Anti? And Dark?”

The group shuffled a bit. “There’s not much we can do with him while he’s pissed off. We’ll keep an eye out here as much as possible, and we can communicate through the books if we must, but honestly we can’t stay here. This isn’t our universe, and we have jobs and stuff on the other side. As for Dark, well….”

“We don’t know.” Jackieboy supplied, leaning against the nearest wall. The room was getting crowded. Dee felt small, insignificant.

“Then why are you all leaving?!” Picani’s face was white, reddening by the second. “There’s at least one murderer on the loose and you’re just going to up and leave because you’re too scared to be by him while he’s angry?!”

“Picani, ve’ve been with him-“ Schneep was somber.

“And that’s why you shouldn’t leave him! You know what he’d do!”

“It’s not quite that simple-“ Mark tried to diffuse the situation, standing up from his chair.

“BULLSHIT! You’re leaving me and my kids-“

“Picani!” Schneep put a hand on the livid man’s shoulder. “I understand. And ve von’t be leaving you empty-handed. Ve-“

“What about the Jack of this universe?”

They all turned around to look at Patton. “What?”

“There’s a Jack- or Sean, sorry- of this universe right along with Mark? We can just contact him and explain the situation-“

Mark snapped his fingers. “You’re a genius! I keep forgetting I’m from this universe! Let me just…”

He pulled out his phone and yelped when it fizzled and fell to the ground, Mark’s hand instinctively throwing it across the room. “Mark!” Jack moved to the parallel version of his hand as Mark inspected his fingers.

“Don’t worry- I think they’re only singed. I’ll be fine. But Jack-“

“Yeah?”

“I meant my Jack- the Jack of this universe- ah, no, don’t look like that! I mean-“

Sean buried his head in his hands, sitting down on the stairs. “God, you’re just like him! I keep confusing the two of ya!”

“I mean, we are the same person Sean. I have an idea. Let’s wait until all of this stuff is settled, maybe get our other counterparts together if paradox allows, and go get a beer or something.”

“Aw, Mark, you know you can’t drink that stuff.”

“Fine! A coffee then. Let’s get a coffee.”

“Deal.”

They hugged, and Marvin gestured impatiently, his cat on his shoulders. “I’m sure you guys have videos to do, right? Chase has been trying to keep up for you on our side Jack, but your audience has noticed something’s up. They’ve even suggested a coma theory.”

“Jesus. I’m comin’- can’t have the populous riot, now can we. See ya around Mark.”

“See ya around Jack.”

They walked through the portal, it collapsing behind them. It was quiet.

“Anyone want to help me clean this mess up?”

They soon got to work cleaning up all the glasses and cat hairs.

 

\-----------

 

Jack was working on a video. He had just sent a file of his work to Robin when a noise outside caused him to jump and almost spit out his coffee.

 

"Hello?" He listened, hard. "Is anybody there?"

"O̶h̷,̶ ̶y̶o̶u̸'̷r̵e̶ ̷g̵o̵i̶n̶g̸ ̴t̷o̴ ̸w̶i̸s̷h̷ ̷t̸h̸a̸t̶ ̸t̴h̴e̵r̵e̴ ̷w̷a̸s̶ ̵s̵o̴m̶e̷b̴o̶d̴y̷,̴ ̸a̵r̵e̸n̸'̷t̴ ̶y̴a̵ ̷J̷a̶c̴k̸a̴b̷o̵y̵?̸"

There was a glitched out, high-pitched giggle as the door fully opened and he saw the figure coming towards him. His eyes widened.

“No! You can’t be real- NO! If you’re real, that means-“

Anti laughed. “S̶o̶r̴r̶y̶ ̶J̵a̵c̷k̸i̶e̶!̵ ̸I̶ ̴g̷u̴e̵s̴s̵ ̷n̸o̶b̷o̷d̴y̴ ̵i̶s̶ ̸g̴o̴i̵n̶g̶ ̶t̸o̵ ̸c̵o̶m̷e̷ ̸s̵a̴v̶e̵ ̵y̵o̶u̷ ̷n̴o̵w̷!̷ ̴H̷e̵h̸e̸h̴e̴h̶e̶h̷e̸!̶”

All he saw was a flash of green and red before his head felt like it was about to burst and darkness overtook him.

 

\---------

 

There was a knock on the door. Virgil went to answer it, being the only one not actively doing anything and being the closest to the door.

“hello picani-“ Sans’s eyesockets widened as he saw Virgil. Frisk almost tackled him in a hug.

“Virgil!”

He staggered backwards a few steps, arms pinned by a deathgrip. “Uh, hey Sans! Long time no see?”

There was the sound of Frisk’s overjoyed shout- right into his ear I might add- and they sprung off of him to go hug Dee and Patton, who had just come over to see what the noise was. Remy came down the stairs.

“Hey hon! Long time no see, huh?”

Sans turned to him. “you know, sometimes i swear you all have a hive mind or somethin’.”

Virgil cracked a grin and waved him inside. “Nah, we just think alike. Want some ketchup if we have any?”

“who can say no to that?” he stepped through the door. Mark came through with a cleaning rag, and froze before relaxing.

“Hello. I don’t believe we’ve met…?”

“sans,  sans the skeleton. that would be a no here too. say, you look a lot like a guy i saw a few minutes ago- grey, shadowy… kinda like someone in a 3d movie if you forgot to put on the glasses… know why that is?”

Dee and Mark locked eyes over the smiling Frisk.

“ _Shit._ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Have a great day, and to those who celebrate, Happy Halloween!  
> See ya next time!


	72. Anguis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Inhale* Okay. Let's do this. 
> 
> Also, long chapter again. Nice.  
> Also, language. Lots of it. Yeah. I mean there's a general panic, so that's to be expected.

Gaster and Logan rushed down the hall of the Lab while Dee was frantically scribbling in the book and adding his thoughts to the mess of a conversation. Mark tried to keep up with them.

“So this sociopathic demon glitch escaped from another dimension and is trying to kill an Irish chap for some unknown reason?”

“He’s not just some sociopathic demon glitch doc, he’s Anti.”

“Well fuck.” Apparently he had met the glitch before. He started running down the hall. “Dammit, why don’t we get a people-mover in here?! This hallway is ridiculously long!” They finally got to the end of the comedically long hallway, where they turned a corner to through a door and into a room occupied by a large machine and about twenty lab assistants.

“Er, Doc, are you sure they should be-“

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” He flew to the consoles and moved rapidly, conjuring extra hands to flip levers and type while all of the assistants backed away from the consoles in an instant. A few recognized Mark but said nothing. Logan went up to the machine and flipped a few stitches.

“Everything seems to be calibrated here. Mark, you know where we are going, yes? We need somebody to have a mental picture.”

“Yes? What are you going to-?”

“You guys have a way to transport us there?”

Logan smiled and turned towards them, flipping the last lever. A bright blue light filled the space inside the doorway-shaped machine.

“This.”

Mark immediately closed his eyes and ran through. They all stared at each other for a few seconds.

“Did he just-“

“It’s a good thing I had everything calibrated. He should be fine, but you should be following behind. I will stay here to monitor the portal. Click this-“ He said, throwing a silver device about the shape of a pen- at Dee. “-when you wish to return. Another portal should open in the same spot. If anything happens you have my number. I can track your location and come over if need be.”

“And the backup?” Logan said, looking to Dee.

“They can only see it- Marvin has no way to get back so soon. We _might_ be able to convince some other people to come with us in the next second, but-“

“So we’re on our own? Got it.” He cracked his knuckles. “Let’s go.”

Dee and Logan ran through the portal.

A shadow man appeared in the room, glancing at the Doctor. Gaster raised a brow.

“May I be of assistance?”

The man flickered red then blue, and disappeared. Gaster eyed the spot warily before continuing to type.

He either needed more sleep or had to ask Virgil exactly how many people there were that he didn’t know.

 

\--------

 

They jumped out above two feet off of the ground in the hallway of an apartment building. Mark was pacing in front of a doorway.

“I can’t get anyone to answer.” He said as they peeled themselves off of the ground. Dee thought.

“I can get us inside if you want.”

Logan and Mark stared at him.

“What? I can bend reality with my illusions- I can just create a doorway and we can go through and then I can get rid of it. Easy-peasy.”

Mark shrugged, leaning on the doorframe. “I mean- if you have to. Anti had quite a bit of a head start- he could have been here hours ago.” He stumbled as his hand slipped from the doorway and onto the door-

And he fell through as it opened with a crash. He groaned and picked himself off of the floor and froze on his hands and knees. Logan and Dee looked past him and sighed.

This was going to make their day a lot more complicated.

The outside room almost seemed normal- there was a decent amount of nice-looking furniture, some fan art was hung on the walls- it was a very homey apartment.

Except for the green shadows looming from the end of the hallway across from the door, a high pitched giggle floating through the air.

Logan was moving faster than he thought he ever could, eyes flaring purple as he summoned his strings. There was a muffled shout from the end of the hall. He kicked open the door and leapt through with a wordless battle cry.

There was the sound of- could it even be described as a scream? It was filled with anger, and sounded less human than a fax machine.

Dee ran after his cousin, the faint muted thrum of fear startling him into action to defend Logan from harm. He didn’t even notice the surprised shout from Mark behind him as he ran, down to the room in a flash.

Logan had tackled the glitch, and the man in the split image of whom he knew as the Player was scrambling to a sitting position semi-covered by his desk. Logan had wrapped Anti in what looked like a cocoon, eyes angry.

“̶Y̵o̵u̶ ̸d̷a̴r̵e̷-̷!̴”̵

“Yes I dare, you Quixotic Quarrelsome Quack!”

“̷W̴h̷a̴t̴?̸!̴”̸ ̸

“I know what I said!”

The doppelganger scrambled to his feet. “That’s not going to-“

“̶H̷o̷l̷d̸ ̵m̶e̵?̵”̵ ̷Anti smiled and shrugged as best as he could in his confines. “̸O̸h̶,̶ ̴I̸ ̴k̷n̴o̴w̵ ̴t̴h̶a̸t̶!̴  ̶Y̶o̸u̶ ̸k̸n̴o̴w̴ ̸t̵h̷a̷t̷ ̴t̷o̶o̵,̷ ̷d̶o̷n̷’̴t̶ ̵y̶a̴?̵ ̵Y̸o̷u̵’̴r̴e̶ ̸j̸u̴s̷t̵ ̶t̵r̷y̵i̷n̸g̶ ̷t̷o̴ ̶s̴a̴v̴e̷ ̶l̶i̶t̵t̴l̵e̷,̶ ̸m̷e̴a̸g̸e̶r̷ ̶J̷a̷c̶k̴i̶e̷ ̸f̴r̸o̴m̵ ̸m̷e̴!̸”̴ ̸ He laughed. “̶Y̸o̴u̷ ̸c̷a̴n̷’̷t̵ ̷h̵a̷v̷e̸ ̵t̶h̸e̶ ̶l̷i̵m̶e̶l̵i̷g̴h̵t̵ ̴f̶o̷r̵e̷v̴e̷r̴ ̵p̵u̸p̵p̴e̴t̵!̴ ̷I̵’̵l̵l̶ ̵b̵e̴ ̸b̷a̶c̴k̶!̶”̵

Before they could do anything he dissolved into pixels, leaving Logan to thud to the floor. He got up, brushing his hands off on his black jeans.

“The glitch was right. He’ll be back- and we still have Dark to account for.”

Dee wasn’t sure the irishman’s face could have gotten paler but it did.

“Dark?” He said meekly.

“Yep.” Mark’s familiar voice brought Jack out of his stupor.

“MARK!”

He jumped up and buried the other man in a hug, causing him to stumble back a few feet.

“You’ve been missing for weeks without a trace! Nobody could find you- where have you been?!”

“Honest but blunt or evasive yet comforting?”

“Uh, honest but comforting?”

“Not one of the choices but I’ll see what I can do. I was basically possessed by Dark, who is still wandering around here somewhere.”

“How is that comforting?!”

“I’m still alive? And not possessed by Dark anymore?” Mark was grasping for straws, voice defensive.

“Well how the hell should I know that? He could still be around here for all I know?!” Mark laughed at the look on Jack’s face.

“That’s ridi-“

|So you aren’t a complete moron. What a surprise.|

“Hey! That was offensive!”

Dark chuckled. |Well of course. I have fun playing with meager humans such as you.|

“Dark.” Mark seemed annoyed at the treatment of his friend.

|Not to mention that your species is rather idiotic in the affairs of each other. You make us egos seem pacifistic in comparison.|

“Dark….” Mark had a warning lilt to his voice. The shadow kept speaking, leaning on a black and silver cane with habitual ease. Dee noticed the much stronger blue left the red faded and withdrawn.

|The smallest tastes of our power would cause you to call us animals and maniacs… yet you all are doing such to your own. It’s not fair, is it?|

“Damien!”

| **What have I told you about using that name!|** The man turned around, aura flashing a warning. | **Damien is dead! No more, no less!|** He held the cane threateningly.

Dee and Logan slowly moved towards the door with Jack, ready to throw up a wall at a moment’s notice. Dee stopped in his tracks.

“Celine.”

Dark whirled towards him, angrier than ever. | **What?** | The red flashed, betraying his words.

“That’s her name, isn’t it? The one right there.” He pointed slightly to the right of Darkiplier. “And that’s Damien.” He pointed slightly to the left. “And then you.” He gestured to the middle.

“There- there’s nobody there Dee.” Logan sounded concerned. Dee waved him off. Dark glitched slightly.

“Now, now, there’s no reason to argue. Let the four of us have a chat, while they take care of Jack here? We can sort things out, and they can just relax.” He hoped his plan would work. If they weren’t smart enough to run…

|Fine. Let your puppets run away. Let’s have a chat.|

Dee smiled graciously and turned around, eying Logan pointedly. He’d give him a slip of paper as soon as the man left with him… he just hoped he’d follow the instructions and not be heroic. Roman would never do it, but Logan just might.

“Shall we talk in the kitchen?”

|If we must.|

He walked silently down the hall, glad that he had rather quiet shoes. The sound always bothered him. He felt Dark’s presence behind him so he didn’t turn around.

“Would you like a beverage? Water, coffee?”

|No. We have gathered to talk about business, yes? Let’s not waste time on pleasantries.|

“A man after my own heart. I hope you won’t mind if I take my own offer.”

He conjured a water glass and took a seat at one end of the table. Dark took the other, resting his cane atop the wooden surface.

|Let’s keep this simple. Easy. Clear.| His voice hardened. |How do you know about Damien and Celine?|

“As soon as I saw you. Your aura isn’t very conspicuous you know.” He sent the instructions and deliberately lit up his eye. “Remember?”

 

_Dark was politely drinking his tea when he heard the door open and a few muttered voices interspersed with common greetings. Two kids had just walked through the door, the one in the hoodie going over to greet them. Dark tried to be courteous._

_|Well hello there.|_

_One of them- the one in brown and yellow- seemed surprised before ducking his head down. A common reaction to seeing him. The one in the hoodie crowded closer, and he saw a vibrant flash of yellow as he strained to hear the words they whispered. Nothing he could hear. His aura shifted in annoyance._

_(We might have an edge over the one in yellow.)_

_{Indeed. His aura is rather strange… He may prove useful.}_

_Good._

_He just had to wait._

 

Dee smiled. “You have quite the talkative friends there. Mind if I add a point?”

Dark hadn’t even realized they were speaking.

{Dark? Dark, what’s going on? This isn’t in the plans-}

(Of course this isn’t in the plans! This was never in the plans! We just had to get rid of Mark and then it turned into this! Our Mark is dead and gone, just like us!)

They faded back into his subconscious, but Dee simply nodded sagely.

“I see, I see. You are right, Damien, but you do have some points Celine. Revenge is great and all, and I’m sure your Mark did you a great trouble, but your Mark and our Mark are very different people. Would your Mark ever do something like this? You’ve been through his mind- did he ever show signs of that grudge?”

Dark thought. Celine answered, her voice hushed but growing stronger in her anger.

{No. No, NO! We’ve been doing something wrong- Damien, you can’t be right! They look-}

“They look the same. Mark is a rather common name, and that is a rather common face. I’ve seen, what, three? More? I’m sorry, but your purpose is gone.”

He actually did look sincere- damn it! He was getting muddled with emotions! What should he do?!

(We have to give up. Go home. Celine-)

{No! I won’t have it! That has to be our Mark! He ruined us! WE MUST HAVE VENGANCE!}

His hand twitched, and he felt both his and Damien’s shock. What was she doing?

(Celine-)

{NO!}

Dee edged forwards a bit in his seat. “Celine-“

{DO NOT TEST ME MORTAL!}

He pushed onwards, looking for the person past the anger. “Celine. I understand what it’s like. Not completely, mind you, but I know there is a person past the anger and shock. I know what it’s like for your project to come to abandon. But take this second chance of life and live it Celine. You don’t have to be the same person forever- you can change. You as well Damien. And Dark-“

He looked up sharply, stunned at being addressed.

“-I’m sure this isn’t your first time at this rodeo. Take that opportunity too.” He got up. “As for me, well…” He flashed a Roman-worthy smile. “I have to stop an escape attempt. Sorry about that.”

He moved around the corner just in time to run into Logan.

“Dee? What are you doing here-“

“Throw that out the window. Dark isn’t probably going to kill us. And Jack-“

“Hmm?” The Irishman looked up from fiddling with a small object he slipped into his pocket. Was that a-

“Or maybe I should say…. Dark is probably going to try to kill you, Anti. I’d get out and leave before anything bad happens, both to you and your host.”

“How- I̵ ̵w̵a̵s̴ ̶p̶e̸r̷f̵e̶c̴t̴!̴” He took out the weapon- a small letter-opener. He had no doubt that the demon could use it like a pairing knife. Mark about fell over.

“Jack?”

“O̸h̴ ̴s̷h̶u̴t̵ ̵i̸t̶!̵ ̷D̷o̵n̵’̴t̵ ̴a̶c̸t̶ ̵h̷i̸g̷h̶ ̷a̸n̸d̸ ̸m̸i̷g̴h̶t̷y̴ ̵l̷i̶k̶e̴ ̶y̴o̷u̷’̵r̴e̴ ̵s̸o̴ ̸p̴e̴r̵f̸e̸c̷t̶!̵ ̵I̸ ̸d̸e̴s̶e̸r̶v̷e̷ ̸s̴o̷m̷e̵ ̴l̴i̸m̷e̸l̶i̶g̸h̷t̶ ̵t̶o̴o̷,̸ ̵e̵v̴e̶n̴ ̵i̷f̵ ̶I̷ ̷h̸a̵v̶e̵ ̵t̶o̸ ̸s̸t̶e̵a̷l̷ ̶t̷o̵ ̷g̷e̵t̵ ̷i̶t̷!̴”̸

“Anti- you have plenty of limelight here. You don’t have to-“

“O̶h̷?̷ ̶F̶o̵r̵ ̴w̶h̵a̴t̸,̵ ̴a̴ ̴f̶i̵v̷e̴-̶m̴i̸n̵u̷t̸e̴ ̵a̸p̷p̸e̶a̷r̸a̴n̵c̶e̵ ̷i̵n̷ ̴a̸ ̸v̶i̶d̶e̵o̶?̴ ̶A̵ ̸f̴e̸w̷ ̶s̶e̸c̴o̵n̶d̶s̴ ̶o̶f̴ ̵s̸c̷r̵e̴e̶n̵ ̴t̸i̴m̸e̴?̶ ̸F̸o̷r̵g̸e̴t̵ ̴i̷t̵-̸ ̴I̴’̶m̷ ̷n̷o̵t̴ ̵i̷m̴p̸o̶r̶t̸a̴n̵t̶!̶ ̶L̸o̴o̴k̸ ̶a̵t̶ ̴m̸e̵!̴ ̶W̶h̸o̷ ̶w̸o̴u̶l̵d̴ ̸w̵a̷n̷t̷ ̶t̷o̴ ̷w̵o̷r̸s̸h̴i̸p̸ ̴s̶o̵m̵e̷o̵n̴e̸ ̶w̴h̴e̸n̶ ̵t̷h̶e̷y̸ ̷c̸a̸n̸ ̷r̴e̸l̷i̷v̵e̴  ̴m̸o̶m̸e̶n̵t̴s̶ ̵t̶h̸r̶o̸u̶g̸h̵ ̵a̵ ̴s̸c̵r̶e̶e̶n̶?̴ ̵T̴h̸a̷t̸’̷s̵ ̴p̶o̸w̴e̶r̷!̵”̵

“Not if you misuse it. What Jack has- it’s a fine balance that not everyone can work. Maybe just ask him to take you on as a partner- like Dan and Phil- and you two can have a series or maybe even a separate channel of your own! You don’t have to steal or kill to get it!” Wow Mark that was actually a great idea.

“W̵h̷a̵t̵ ̴a̴r̵e̸ ̷t̷h̸e̶ ̸o̵d̴d̷s̶ ̴t̴h̴a̸t̴ ̴s̴o̵m̶e̷o̸n̴e̵ ̷l̴i̴k̵e̶ ̸h̴i̵m̵ ̷w̶o̴u̷l̴d̷ ̷e̸v̸e̷r̷ ̷t̵a̸k̴e̵ ̸o̶n̸ ̸a̵ ̷s̶o̷c̵i̴o̸p̵a̸t̶h̷i̵c̶ ̴m̵u̴r̶d̵e̶r̵e̶r̷ ̷w̵h̶o̴ ̴l̸o̸o̴k̵s̷ ̵l̸i̸k̵e̷ ̶s̸o̶m̷e̵o̶n̷e̶ ̴w̷e̸n̸t̶ ̸w̷a̸y̷ ̸t̷o̷o̵ ̷h̵e̴a̵v̷y̵ ̷o̸n̸ ̸t̵h̷e̴ ̵s̶t̴a̶g̶e̶ ̴b̶l̷o̷o̴d̶ ̴a̴s̶ ̶a̶ ̷p̴a̶r̶t̵n̵e̶r̸?̸”̷

|Higher than you’d think Anti.|

Anti whirled around, brandishing his knife defensively.

|I won’t try to kill you at this current moment. Just think it out. Ask at first for more appearances- maybe even try something as a separate series of your own about your experiences- and I’m sure the community will eat it up. And besides, you could act like brothers. Give stupid sword smithing demonstrations, that kind of shit.|

“I̴ ̵m̵a̴k̵e̷ ̶k̵n̷i̸v̴e̶s̶,̷ ̶n̵o̶t̷ ̷s̸w̴o̷r̵d̶s̴!̷ ̵N̴o̶b̷o̸d̴y̵ ̵w̵o̵u̵l̶d̸ ̵e̴v̸e̴n̸ ̸l̷i̶s̷t̷e̶n̷ ̷t̸o̷ ̶m̴e̴ -“

|They would because it’s you! You’re an icon! A legend! You want power, take it and leave Jack alone!|

The three of them watched this pan out. “It’s like Wimbledon.” Mark whispered.

That caused them to snicker.

“F̴i̸n̸e̴.” Anti huffed.

“Now can you please get out of my friend’s body?” Mark pleaded, hoping it would work.

Anti shrugged. “E̴h̵,̴ ̸s̷u̶r̴e̷,̴ ̶t̶h̸i̴s̴ ̸t̸h̸i̸n̴g̸’̸s̶ ̸a̵ ̷p̸i̶e̸c̶e̵ ̸o̷f̴ ̷t̶r̶a̸s̸h̵ ̴a̷n̵y̴w̷a̵y̴.”

And Jack fell to the side. He opened his eyes, pointing in a random direction. “I heard that! But if your Jack’s anything like me, you have a good chance on that deal. It’s a lot of work dressing myself up to look like you ya know. Saves Robin a lot of editing. He’d be an idiot not to-“

“G̵l̷a̷d̶ ̶t̵o̷ ̷s̷e̵e̶ ̵t̶h̷a̸t̴ ̶y̶o̸u̸ ̸t̴h̸i̵n̶k̵ ̷s̸o̷ ̶h̷i̶g̶h̴l̷y̷ ̷o̷f̶ ̷y̴o̵u̴r̴s̶e̸l̶f̸.̷”̷ ̸ Anti hovered in the air, a knife in his hand. “B̴u̸t̷ ̴h̵e̸y̷,̷ ̴i̵t̸ ̷t̴a̸k̷e̸s̵ ̸t̵r̵a̸s̶h̵ ̵t̸o̵ ̶k̶n̴o̵w̷ ̷a̴b̷o̸u̵t̷ ̵o̶t̶h̷e̷r̶ ̸t̶r̶a̴s̴h̴.̷ ̸S̸e̴e̵ ̵y̶a̸ ̵J̷a̷c̴k̴i̴e̵!̸”̴ And he had dissolved into a mess of glitches.

Dee chuckled. “Marvin’s gonna be pissed that he has gotten rid of the body he made.”

“Eh, I doubt it. If I were him I would have just separated the two like Wilford did. Not like he’d now the difference if they told him that he’d just been separated from a crazy demon by magic. He’d be too overjoyed to care.” Dee shrugged.

|That does seem correct, yes.|

Logan fished the device Gaster had given him out of his pocket. “We should go home. It was nice meeting you Jack.”

“Same here. Thanks for saving my life Logan. Mark, you going?”

“Yeah, but I expect you to be ready when I and our alternate selves come by to get a cup of coffee or something. See ya Jackaroonie.”

“See ya Markimoo.”

They hugged and went out of the door. Dark smirked and disappeared in a blaze of red and blue.

“Nice meeting you Sean. Don’t work yourself to death.”

“You as well. You might want to get your hand checked out- you look like you have a rash or something. See ya.”

He waved and they left, stepping out to the hallway. Wait, his hand?

He looked down to see that his left glove had come off at some point. He quickly made another one, but Logan crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

“When were you going to tell me that you had developed Anguis?”

Wait, what? Anguis? That must be the name for the scale infestation. “I don’t know Logan. I’ll talk to GoopDoc about it or something- but don’t tell anyone, alright?”

He pursed his lips but nodded. “If it gets serious tell me though, alright? Your health is of primary concern.” Dee waved him off.

“Yeah, of course. Let’s go home.” Logan clicked the button on top of the device.

They walked over to where Mark was waiting, and disappeared into the blue.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and have a great day!


	73. Great Job Anti. Reeeeaallllyyyy Great....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)

Jameson was lounging in an armchair, his cane resting on his lap and a book in hand. Wilford was inspecting the knives in the kitchen. Jack was recording a video. Chase and King were over playing Jenga. The others were getting groceries and coffee. They’d be gone for a while- groceries to feed this many people are expensive and time-consuming. Not that some of them needed to eat, but enough of them did that the pantry was bare in a matter of days.

Two figures appeared in the room, causing everyone to jump back and instinctively draw a series of weapons.

|Well hello.|

“̵G̸r̶e̵e̵t̸i̶n̴g̶s̶!̶ ̷W̴h̴e̷r̴e̴’̸s̶ ̵J̴a̵c̴k̸?̶”̴

There was an uncomfortable silence. Anti giggled.

“̵D̴o̶n̵’̷t̶ ̴w̶o̷r̶r̷y̷!̴ ̸I̶’̸m̸ ̷n̸o̶t̷ ̷g̴o̴n̶n̴a̷ ̴k̸i̷l̴l̷ ̷h̶i̶m̷!̸ ̷I̷ ̴h̷a̵v̸e̶ ̷a̴ ̶f̷e̵w̴ ̵i̶d̷e̸a̵s̶ ̶f̷o̶r̴ ̸h̶i̶s̸ ̶c̶h̷a̷n̴n̶e̶l̴.̸ ̶I̵f̴ ̴y̴o̷u̴ ̵a̶r̵e̵ ̵a̸l̴l̸ ̴s̸o̷ ̵s̷c̸a̴r̷e̵d̷  ̶s̶o̴m̵e̷o̴n̶e̷ ̶c̸a̸n̶ ̴e̷v̴e̷n̴ ̸c̴o̸m̸e̶ ̵w̴i̴t̶h̴ ̸m̶e̸ ̸w̶h̷i̷l̴e̶ ̵w̵e̶ ̸t̵a̷l̸k̸.̵”̶

Jameson hesitantly sheathed his cane-sword and nodded, gesturing for the man to follow him. He took him to the recording studio, waiting for a pause that Robin would have to edit out anyway. Anti reached around him to push open the door but James simply shoved his hand away and held up a finger.

_Wait._

Anti grumbled a bit but did so.

“-AAAAHHHhhhh *cough* you might want to edit this bit out Robin.”

He knocked softly on the door. He heard Jack set his headphones down and move in his chair to open the door. Jameson readied a smile, Anti huffing behind him slightly.

_*Hey Bean! Anti came by, and he wanted to tell you a few ideas about your channel! Sorry to bug, but...*_

“Aw, no! It’s fine! I was at a natural editing point anyway. Come on in! If this is channel stuff do you mind if I keep it recording so Robin hears? He doesn’t quite know yet, but it might be a good time to tell him. I can pull him up on skype instead if that’s better?”

Jameson nodded and Anti shrugged. He turned back to the recording setup and did a couple of things before turning to them once more.

“So what’s up? You two aren’t really the type to barge in unannounced.”

Jameson shrugged and gave Anti the floor. He started to describe his idea for a new series, or at least some more screen time. Jack listened intently.

“That’s not a bad idea. It could give me a break some days… Not to mention you would have to act like me at least a little as to make the audience think that it’s me acting like you… I think that could work out. We’ll have to talk with Robin, but other than that I think it sounds like something we could do sometime in the next month or two, if not sooner depending on whatever schedule we do. Want me to call him?”

Jameson grabbed his arm, summoning one of his talking screens.

 

_Here’s an idea for a big tickle skit- I dig that idea, but add some of us in as side jokes- make Marv do some far out magic or Chase play with some of those ol’ tea bags! Make the focus on all of us and how we interact, as well as making Anti here the protagonist! It’d be kookie!_

 

They took a second to translate his words. He forgot that he was using rather old fashioned speak. Half of the time he had no idea what they were saying, and visa versa, but they at least had quite a bit of fun.

“That’s not a bad idea- make it a separate series about all of us- maybe even make it a separate channel after a while on the side- that wouldn’t be a bad idea. I’ll skype Robin if you guys want to duck over there until I introduce you.”

They moved over there, albeit with some grumbling on Anti’s part. He just seemed excited that it could work though.

“Hey Robin!”

[Hey Jack! This was… rather unexpected. What’s up?]

“Well a couple friends and I came up with an idea for the channel- it wouldn’t be too much work, they can basically take care of it themselves, but it could also add a bit more than gaming to the channel. You and I were talking about adding some skits, right?”

[Yeah. I have a feeling that this is adding up to something…]

“Would I be me if I wasn’t? There’s a reason I’m doing this on my phone for once- I have a few people for you to meet. Sit down, would ya?”

[I’m in my chair, go on. If this is what I think it is-]

Jack swiveled in his chair, allowing the two of them to be seen. “Here they are! Come on closer guys, he don’t bite!”

Anti glitched his way closer, causing the screen to go wonky.

“W̶h̴o̶o̵p̷s̵.̴” He took a step back. The glitches faded away.  

[Please tell me those are really good cosplayers. Sean? Why are you not freaking out right now?]

“Would I actually do something to hurt ya Rob? Don’t worry- we’ve made a compromise. You remember Jameson, right?”

[Yeah- don’t tell me that all of them are-]

“S̷u̴r̷p̷r̷i̸s̷e̶!̷”̸ ̶Anti and Jameson did jazz hands. Robin sank back in his chair.

[Oh, wow. Does that mean that-]

“Some of the Anti stuff was him? A little. Not much- but enough to make your job easier. And it really blows out your vocal cords, so I was able to take a bit of a break.”

[Okay… this is gonna take a little bit to sink in. What was the idea you guys came up with?]

Anti explained the idea, Jack and Jameson jumping in to translate when he got too excited and started glitching out.

[Wow.]

“Yup.”

“̴S̸o̴ ̴w̵h̴a̶t̷ ̶d̴o̶ ̵y̷o̴u̷ ̷t̵h̵i̸n̵k̵?̶”̶

Robin thought for a minute. [Sounds like a deal. If you can start thinking up integration ideas we can probably get it out that much sooner. See what kinds of games it would be good to bring you and the others in, and then announce the news of your series. If it does well we can give you guys a channel of your own. Try to keep out the news that you all are alive for as long as possible of course, but still.]

“Sounds like a plan.”

Anti grinned. “O̷h̷,̴ ̸a̸n̷d̷ ̶t̴h̸e̷r̷e̷’̸s̵ ̵s̶o̶m̵e̶o̴n̷e̸ ̷w̷h̷o̸ ̴w̷a̷n̶t̴s̷ ̴t̵o̷ ̶m̷e̶e̴t̸ ̵y̴o̸u̸.” A bright green eyeball peeked out from behind Jack’s ear.

The resulting scream caused Anti to laugh maniacally and then take his leave in a shower of pixels to tell the others the good news.

 

\--------

 

Alex and Emi were chilling in their favourite coffee shop to watch some Jacksepticeye and say hello to Remy. They hadn’t seen the teen in almost a month, and they missed their frequent trips to Muffet’s to watch videos, chat, and be teenagers.

A new notification popped up.

“Oh, Jack, you’ve outdone yourself.” Emi muttered as they clicked the video and paused it while they waited for Alex to get their drinks and chat with Remy. Remy slid over to the closer side of the counter to watch over their shoulders.

“Oh, hon- he must not be getting any sleep. Look at those edits!”

They watched the egos interact through the screen.

Dang. They acted rather chill for a bunch of figments. How Jack managed to stay on character with all of these different people was impressive- Robin had even made it so there were a few seamless side-by-side split edits so they could be in the same room. Granted, they had always made amazing videos, so it wasn’t that much of a stretch, but it was still an impressive video.

They just fooled around, Chase and Marvin trying to hide Anti from a livid Schneep. The video ended with an Anti jumpscare. They looked at each other, stunned, then immediately clicked the like button. They scrolled down to the comments. Everyone seemed to love it- they were praising the acting and writing- it was definitely a success.

They grinned while Remy gave them a final drink and left for the night.

 

\--------

 

“YO! Jack’s got a new series! Your plan worked!”

Roman and Thomas thundered down the stairs. Patton looked over from the kitchen. Dee looked over from the couch where he was chatting with a man masked by the stairway.

“Yeah, Dark and I were just talking about it. They’re filming it in his dimension. How is it going online?”

“Everyone loves it. Tell them to start filming the next one ASAP. Jack doesn’t even need to be in them, so they can do it while he’s recording, right?”

|Well as long as they don’t ruin the secret they should be fine. They’ve come close a few times and Robin has had to edit some stuff out, but it’s gone pretty well so far.|

“Well that’s good. How are you doing?”

Dee laughed at something. Dark stayed stoic. |I am good. Unfortunately I should depart. My absence has probably been noticed and I must corral them back into some semblance of order.|

He disappeared in a flash of light. So they could travel dimensions? That must make communications easy.

But how did their Jack manage to make these videos? Was YouTube connected through the multiverse? I mean, it would make a lot of things make sense, but still. That was a lot to think about.

Weird.

 

\----------

 

Anti was looking at the footage they had done that day. It wasn’t too bad… yes, it would suffice. He would have to speak with Marvin about all the magic happening in the background though. He didn’t want the fans to know they were real just yet.

Hmm. Maybe they should let Mark in on the secret so they could do a plausible collaboration and the two of them could get together to do bloopers based on what they’d done. Or he could just get Chase to dress up as him and the others could play themselves- that would make things a lot easier.

He was so deep in his thoughts that the image of Dark at the end of the hallway for all of two seconds completely missed his gaze. He saved the work he had done so far and sat back. Maybe he could convince Schneep to take a break and make some cookies… say, that wasn’t a bad video idea. Maybe he could call up some of Dark’s old friends to help with the camera work.

Also not a bad idea. He’d have to get in touch with Dark though. And that was a lot of work. He really needed some sugar. And coffee. It seems he’d be disguising himself and running out to Starbucks.

Maybe he should ask if the others wanted some… after all, they were almost done with filming and needed a treat. And hey, Chase could vlog or something. He just had to promise to not let anything out onto the internet. Not too hard, right?

He grabbed his nicest-looking hoodie and slipped outside for a well-deserved cup of joe. He’d get the others something if he felt like it- he knew what they liked by now anyways.

Maybe.

Who knows? Only time would tell.

 

\----------

 

The internet was blowing up. Apparently some footage of Dark had slipped past editing and theories were flying.

_Was there a collab in the future?_

_Was there going to be a sequel to Who Killed Markiplier? Anti VS Dark? Markiplier TV?_

Basically everyone was going nuts. And they were torn about telling the Egos. Sure, they probably wouldn’t to avoid paradox, but time was weird. Frisk was adamant that they stay silent, although they wouldn’t give any reasoning. It was probably for the best.

Now to function as ordinary people….

Man, a life without much drama wasn’t very eventful, was it?

 

\-----------

 

Anti posted the video. They celebrated with a movie night. Anti sat up groggily in the middle of the night. He heard Jack talking to an audience, and figured he was recording. He ran down the hall, half-glitching in his excitement, and kicked open the door to tell Sean the good news.

“̸ ̷Gu̷e̶s̶s̸ ̴W̷h̸a̶t̴!̵ “Jack jumped about three feet in his chair, surprised as all fuck. Anti noticed the streaming equipment and the chat. “̸̢̦̻̖̝̄̐̊̋͝ ̵̝̲̪̰͍̓̍̽͂̕Ş̶̧̠͔̝͑̇͑̔̑h̵̖̣̞̻̓͂̈̅͂͜ị̸̢̖͍̩̐̈́̆̆̔t̸̟̰̠̫̥́͐͛͒̚.̶̻̳̳͉̐̓̍̆͘͜”̵̢͖͇̍̊̾̈͘͜͜ ̴̦̱̬̪̗̍̂̃̐̊He spazzed in a series of glitches.

The stream abruptly shut off. Jack turned towards him slowly, surprise still evident in his face.

“Anti? What the everloving fuck.”

Anti stopped glitching abruptly, actual fear keeping him frozen in place. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.

**“Fuck.”**

They simply stared at each other. “Anti? What was so important that you had to interrupt a stream?”

Anti just stood there frozen. “ **Fuck**.”

“Yes, I know that. Now what was so important that you had to interrupt a fucking stream?!”

“ **F̸̡̬͎̠̀͐̅̈́͘͜U̷͍̗͉̼͓̎̃̾̄̅C̵̢̜̝̳̭͊̆̄̿͝Ḵ̸̨͓̳̠̾̓̈͘!̵̨͖͎̤̰͆͛̍̓̀”̶̢̖͕͙̣̍̋͝͠ ̶͕̺̘͎̰͌̒̆̊** He spazzed out and disappeared. Where to, he didn’t know.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if JJ's text ends up being inconsistent- I used one to type this weeks ago and then I wrote something with him using something I prefer, but I didn't edit out all of it. Either way, but [ text ] and * text* (In italics) both apply to good ol' Jameson. Sorry if it makes things confusing with what Chara's old text used to be, but I'm trying to make sure they both have their respective texts and stuff. I'm trying to change it up so it isn't like when they're talking to someone through a phone or something, because those are also in brackets and it gets confusing sometimes. I hope it isn't too confusing... 
> 
> But thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and have a great day! Feel free to comment if you have something to say! I appreciate constructive criticism and questions! 
> 
> ANYway... (Now that the boring stuff's over...)
> 
> Great job Anti. 
> 
> Hehehehehehehehe~


	74. Fix-It-Felix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Marvel people WOOP!

Anti appeared inside a strange stone courtyard. It must be far away, because people were still walking around, taking little to no notice of him.

Then he was attacked by a cape. This was ridiculous. He glitched out of the garment, but it simply followed. What the fuck?

He glitched around a little, as if playing a game of tag. The cloak simply turned around to follow him, tireless in its pursuit. He snarled at it. It stopped, the ends curling around as if it was putting them on imaginary hips. Oh it was a sentient flying cape; that was so much better.

“F̵u̴c̵k̴ ̵o̴f̵f̴.̵”̸ He glitched around and grabbed the cape from behind. It simply wrapped itself around his hands like handcuffs, and dragged him roughly forward. He tried to glitch out but he was stuck.

Shit.

Shit shit shit shit shit.

Fuck.

He hadn’t been stuck like this since he had had Jack as his host. What the hell was this thing?!

He squirmed. The cape simply dragged him towards a doorway and shoved him through, releasing his hands. He glared at it and summoned his signature weapon. The weight of the knife calmed him slightly.

He saw the man facing away from him and towards a large geometric window.

“A̶d̴m̸i̵r̴i̶n̷g̷ ̶t̵h̷e̴ ̵a̷r̵c̶h̵i̷t̵e̶c̷t̷u̷r̶e̵?̶”̷

“Yes, it’s rather lovely. I see you’ve met Cloak.”

Oh, so it was a cloak? That was oh so different from a cape. He rolled his eyes.

“̶Y̸e̴a̴h̶.̷ ̸N̸i̷c̵e̸ ̵c̴a̶p̷e̴ ̶y̸o̸u̶ ̵h̶a̵v̶e̴ ̵t̸h̷e̵r̵e̷.̴ ̶F̸r̵i̸e̶n̵d̷ ̷o̷f̶ ̴m̵i̷n̷e̸ ̵w̵o̸u̸l̷d̴ ̷b̸e̴ ̸j̵e̷a̵l̶o̸u̴s̷.̸”̷

“It’s a cloak.”

He laughed, the noise echoing slightly more than usual due to the large space. “S̸o̸r̶r̷y̶ ̵b̵u̴d̵d̶y̸,̵ ̸ l̷o̸o̶k̴s̷ ̸l̴i̷k̴e̵ ̴a̴ ̵c̸a̶p̴e̴ ̸t̵o̷ ̸m̶e̴.̸ ̷N̵o̶w̶ ̵i̶f̵ ̶y̷o̵u̶ ̷g̸r̷a̵b̴b̵e̴d̸ ̷m̶e̷ ̵b̵e̷c̵a̷u̷s̶e̶ ̶y̴o̴u̸ ̵h̴a̵v̷e̴ ̶a̶ ̴d̴e̵a̵t̵h̴w̶i̴s̸h̷,̶  ̸I̶’̸d̷ ̶b̴e̴ ̴h̶a̸p̴p̸y̵ ̵t̵o̸ ̵f̸u̴l̵f̷i̶l̵l̶.̷ ̵I̷f̶ ̵y̷o̶u̶ ̶w̵a̸n̷t̸ ̶t̸o̵ ̶s̸t̸a̸y̶ ̶a̸l̷i̴v̷e̵,̶ ̷w̴e̸l̸l̶…̷”̸ ̸He cocked his head to the side, his knife growing larger and sharper. “̷I̶ ̶m̵a̶y̸ ̵d̷i̷s̷a̸p̶p̷o̸i̸n̶t̵.̴”̴

The man turned towards him. “Oh, I don’t know…. Would you be disappointed if I sent you falling for eternity?” Anti felt a surge of heat underneath him and he fell through empty space.

“S̶͎̈́Ĕ̴͜Ṛ̴̕I̷̼̽O̸̱̎U̸͓S̸͇̋L̶̢̆Ỳ̸͙?̵͓̋!̴͖̏”̴̖̀ His call echoed in the blank void. The wind whistled around him. Well wasn’t this lovely. He concentrated and appeared right back where he had been, knife pointed right at the man’s throat. “̸E̴i̶t̴h̴e̵r̵ ̵b̸a̵c̶k̶ ̸t̷h̵e̵ ̸f̸u̵c̶k̷ ̶u̵p̵,̷ ̷o̷f̶ ̵y̴o̵u̶’̷l̴l̷ ̶s̴o̷o̵n̴ ̸b̷e̶c̷o̴m̸e̴ ̸v̴e̷r̸y̴ ̵i̸n̵t̴i̸m̵a̴t̶e̶ ̵w̸i̶t̴h̵ ̵m̴y̴ ̷k̴n̴i̵f̶e̴.̸”̸

The man stood there for a second then started to chuckle. No, not chuckle, fully laugh outright in his face. Anti felt a surge of anger.

“I see you really are looking for a challenge. Well, sorry glitch bitch, but I won’t be able to comply.” He waved his fingers. “Goodbye.~”

A force kicked him from behind and he fell straight through a portal…

And into his living room. Fuck.

 

\---------

 

Frisk and Flowey were admiring the stream when they saw Him. He burst through the door, the screen glitching slightly, shouting something about having good news.

Then the stream immediately shut off. They stared at each other before immediately going onto Discord and Tumblr respectively.

Posts and screenshots were already showing up, along with theories and general freak outs.

Same on Tumblr. They stared at each other. Frisk got a skype call from Logan. When they opened it however, Dee and Dark were there.

[Did you see it?]

“Yep. I’m assuming you two did as well?”

|That was not part of the plan.| Dark looked annoyed. |And he disappeared so we can’t find him.|

Well this wasn’t ideal. Then there was a scream behind the two of them. It sounded like it was coming from downstairs. Patton popped into existence.

[Heya kiddos! Sorry to bother you but we have an incredibly annoyed Anti downstairs…anything you guys can do to stop him?]

Dark sighed heavily before disappearing. Could nobody walk anymore?

There was a faint crash from downstairs. Then an annoyed Anti noise. Then an angry Dark noise. Then a few crackles of static and Dark returned, straightening his suit.

|He’s gone now.|

[Thanks a lot! I’m going to go finish my cookies, tell me if you need anything.]

Dark nodded and disappeared, for good this time. Dee and the two of them just stared at each other. Dee reached up to turn the screen off and they caught a glimpse of his wrist.

“Dee? What happened to your wrist?”

“Holy crap you have Anguis?!”

They turned towards Flowey, who looked rather shocked.

“What’s Anguis?”

“It’s literally snake in Latin- there’s an old monster legend about a powerful Boss Monster. He was great and wise, but he ended up killing a mage’s son on accident. That mage cursed him to become a snake along with others of his kind. He died slowly and painfully, driven half-mad with regret and the sickness. I didn’t know human could get it though- it’s super rare even in monsters- there’s only about every other generation with a case. I don’t think there’s a cure yet, but Gaster and the others can probably figure something out. How long ago did you notice this?”

Dee shrugged. [I dunno… a month, two? It was while we were in the other dimension. I think it has something to do with how much magic I use. It hasn’t spread very much though and I feel fine.]

Flowey looked concerned. “Okay… I’m going to go tell Gaster and the others to try to work on finding a cure. If I can tell him that would be great though.”

[Yeah, go ahead. It’s not too bad, but it would be nice to stop it while I can. And not going crazy would be a plus. Only you, Stark, and Logan know about it though, so stay as quiet as possible, okay?]

“Gotcha.” Flowey got out of his pot using his vines and dropped out of the window.

Dee ended the call.

 

\---------

 

Well now Anti was doubly pissed. He really wanted to kill somebody, but Jack would be extremely angry. Fortunately nobody had witnessed him appear in the living room, but he really needed to talk to Dark. And that asshole had said that they’d talk back in their world! Well where the hell were they going to do it, Ohio?

He seethed and glitched back home. If he had to confront the others he probably had better do it while he was in the mood to kill someone.

 

\---

 

“Hey Anti.” Jack wasn’t in his recording studio. That was strange…

“̴W̷h̸a̸t̷ ̶a̵r̸e̸ ̷y̶o̶u̴ ̷d̴o̶i̴n̵g̷ ̷o̴u̶t̴ ̶o̷f̴ ̶y̶o̴u̴r̸ ̸s̵t̵u̵d̷i̶o̴?̶”̸

Jack rolled his eyes. “Oh, you know, just sitting here having a cup of coffee. Not thinking about the downfall of my job at all.”

“I don’t know about you, but this seems to be turning out quite in our favor.” Chase was typing on his laptop on the other side of the table, coffee forgotten next to him. “Everyone seems rather okay with it. MatPat’s doing a theory on it soon, the internet doesn’t quite think we’re real yet, it’s all pretty good.”

Dark appeared. |Bad news.|

They all groaned.

|Well hello to you too. I meant that YouTube is cross-dimensional. Both worlds are going crazy, and this whole thing is getting posted on both.|

“Well how is the other me taking it?”

|I popped by on my way here- he’d basically just letting it go. Anything you say on the matter will be uploaded, so he doesn’t think he has to do anything.”

“̷L̶u̸c̴k̵y̴ ̴h̷i̵m̸.̵”̴ Anti groused, grabbing Chase’s coffee. Blek. It was cold.

“Either way we can’t just let this pass by. I have videos I can upload, but the internet wants an answer. I think we’ll just have to say that you’re real.”

“̷W̸H̷A̶T̶?̴!̷ ̶S̴e̶a̴n̷,̷ ̶y̵o̵u̴ ̵c̴a̷n̴’̷t̸!̵”̷

“And why not?” Jack ran his hands through his hair. “This year has been a mess- I found out magic’s real, that alternate universes exist, got stuck in said alternate universe, that my best friend of another universe was missing because of an evil demon, and above all of that trying to maintain my career. I need a break….” He rested his head down onto the tabletop. Sam flew over and nuzzled his shoulder.

“̶B̴u̷t̸ ̵t̸h̶i̴n̷k̸ ̵o̷f̴ ̴t̴h̴e̶ ̵c̸o̴n̵s̶e̶q̸u̴e̸n̵c̵e̴s̸!̴ ̵Y̸o̶u̴ ̸h̵a̷v̶e̵ ̵t̶h̸e̴ ̷o̶t̸h̴e̶r̴ ̷y̸o̸u̶ ̸t̴o̶ ̷w̴o̵r̵r̷y̸ ̴a̸b̷o̸u̸t̶ ̸n̸o̵w̴.̵”̵

“Fuuuccckkk….. what do I do…?”

“̷S̴i̴m̶p̷l̸y̸ ̶s̷a̷y̷ ̴t̸h̴a̷t̴ ̷I̶ ̷a̸m̵ ̸r̷e̵a̶l̵.̴ ̸K̸e̵e̷p̵ ̶t̴h̸e̸ ̸o̷t̴h̵e̶r̷s̴ ̶a̸ ̸s̷e̶c̴r̴e̴t̶.̸ ̷T̸h̷e̸y̶ ̸d̶o̶n̷’̶t̶ ̷h̶a̸v̶e̸ ̴t̸o̴ ̸k̶n̶o̴w̵,̷ ̴d̵o̸ ̴t̴h̷e̵y̵?̶ ̶Y̶o̷u̶ ̶c̴a̴n̴ ̶t̸e̸l̶l̷ ̷t̷h̸e̷ ̶c̸o̴m̶m̵u̶n̴i̸t̷y̸ ̵a̸b̴o̷u̴t̴ ̵t̸h̴e̴ ̵o̷t̵h̸e̵r̵s̵ ̷a̷t̸ ̸s̶o̸m̴e̵ ̸o̶t̸h̶e̵r̸ ̵p̶o̴i̶n̷t̸.̷ ̵M̸a̴y̵b̴e̸ ̵a̸ ̷t̴h̸i̸n̵g̸ ̷o̵n̵ ̷o̴u̶r̴ ̴s̶e̶r̸i̴e̴s̷ ̷a̵t̵ ̴s̸o̷m̵e̴  ̴p̸o̷i̸n̸t̷-̴, ̴m̵a̶y̵b̸e̶ ̵f̷o̷r̶ ̴y̷o̶u̵r̴ ̸b̶i̷r̷t̶h̷d̴a̴y̶ ̵o̶r̸ ̵s̶o̵m̶e̸t̶h̸i̴n̸g̷.̷ ̴J̴u̷s̷t̸ ̸r̸e̶l̷a̷x̷…̷ ̷I̸’̵m̸ ̶s̴u̵r̸e̸ ̵w̸e̷’̷l̶l̵ ̴f̸i̵g̷u̷r̸e̵ ̵s̷o̸m̸e̴t̶h̶i̷n̶g̴ ̸o̶u̸t̶.̷”̴

Jack looked up in desperation. “I think that could work… dammit I have to talk to Robin about the whole thing. I’ll see you guys later. Anti, you want to come?”

Anti paused, hands curled around his cold coffee. “̸W̵o̷u̴l̶d̸ ̷t̵h̷a̷t̸ ̶b̷e̵ ̴t̵h̸e̵ ̷b̵e̵s̷t̴ ̷i̵d̸e̵a̸?̶  H̷e̷’̵s̸ ̶s̶u̶r̷e̶ ̵t̵o̶ ̷ h̵a̷v̸e̴ ̶s̸e̶e̶n̶ ̵i̸t̸ ̴b̸y̷ ̵n̸o̴w̶.̵”̸

“Fuck, Anti I’m desperate. Can you explain it? I just need something off of my back…” The youtuber lay his head on his hands, massaging his temples. Chase and Sam just pat him on the back.

Anti got up and went into the recording room. He tried to contain his aura and simply observe the electronics. Cool, not that much glitching. He went over to the computer and skyped Robin.

[Hey- AAH! Oh, hey Anti. Don’t suppose you’re going to give me an explanation, are you?]

“̵I̶t̵ ̵w̵a̶s̸ ̸a̶n̷ ̵a̵c̷c̸i̵d̴e̴n̶t̵.̵ ̶I̵ ̵d̸i̸d̵n̶’̴t̵ ̶k̶n̴o̸w̶ ̷h̶e̸ ̵w̴a̶s̵ ̷s̴t̵r̴e̵a̵m̶i̵n̴g̴ ̷a̶n̶d̴ ̴I̸ ̵w̷a̷n̷t̴e̴d̷ ̶t̶o̶ ̷t̴e̷l̵l̵ ̵h̵i̷m̸ ̴w̸e̶ ̸p̸o̴s̴t̷e̴d̵ ̸o̷u̸r̴ ̷f̶i̴r̸s̷t̶ ̶ v̴i̶d̵e̷o̵.̴ ̸T̸u̵r̶n̸e̷d̸ ̵o̴u̸t̸ ̷h̸e̸ ̴w̷a̷s̶ ̷s̷t̴r̵e̶a̸m̴i̶n̷g̶.̵ ̶S̸e̷a̴n̴’̶s̴ ̵f̵r̷e̷a̸k̷i̷n̷g̶ ̴o̷u̴t̶ ̴a̵n̷d̷ ̷w̸e̶’̸r̸e̴ ̵t̴h̷i̵n̶k̸i̶n̴g̵ ̵I̷ ̸s̵h̶o̵u̴l̶d̸ ̸t̷e̸l̶l̸ ̸t̸h̴e̸ ̸f̷a̴n̶s̵ ̵a̸b̷o̵u̷t̷ ̷m̵e̸.̸ ̶N̴o̶t̷ ̶t̸h̶e̸ ̴o̶t̴h̸e̸r̸s̴ ̶q̶u̷i̵t̷e̴ ̵y̶e̸t̶,̶ ̴b̵u̷t̴ ̶m̸e̵.̵”̵

[Are you sure? I mean- I know Jack has a lot on his head right now, so if there’s anything I can do to help just ask.]

“̵O̷k̵a̸y̴.̸ ̷I̵’̵m̷ ̴g̵o̶n̵n̸a̷ ̷d̸o̸ ̸i̸t̶.̶ ̶S̸h̷o̴r̷t̸ ̶a̵n̵d̷ ̷s̵w̷e̶e̴t̶ ̷v̶l̷o̷g̶ ̷s̸t̷y̶l̴e̴.̶ ̸I̸f̵ ̸y̶o̷u̷ ̶w̶a̵n̵t̵ ̷t̸o̶ ̵e̵d̶i̶t̵ ̶i̸t̸ ̷f̵e̴e̵l̶ ̶f̸r̸e̵e̴ ̵t̷o̴ ̷d̷o̴ ̴a̶ ̶p̵a̸s̸s̸o̵v̸e̸r̸,̸ ̸b̷u̵t̸ ̷I̷ ̴k̵i̷n̴d̵a̴ ̷w̵a̴n̶t̶ ̸t̴o̵ ̷j̵u̷s̷t̴ ̶l̵e̸t̵ ̸i̷t̴ ̸o̶u̶t̷ ̷i̶n̶t̷o̶ ̶t̶h̸e̶ ̴o̷p̶e̶n̵,̸ ̷g̶e̵t̴ ̵i̶t̴ ̴o̵f̷f̵ ̸o̴f̴ ̴h̶i̶s̷ ̷b̸a̸c̴k̷,̸ ̶y̸o̷u̸ ̴k̷n̶o̷w̶?̴”̴

[Okay. I’d have everyone other than Jack clear the area. Just so you have room to show it short and sweet- let the thing tell itself, you know?]

“̴O̵k̸a̴y̶ ̵R̴o̸b̷i̸n̶.̴ ̶T̶h̶a̴n̸k̸s̷.̴ ̷S̵e̶e̶ ̸y̶a̷ ̴a̸r̶o̵u̸n̵d̴ ̶I̴ ̴g̸u̴e̵s̴s̶.̷”̷  He exited the call, taking in a deep breath.

He ducked around to the kitchen table and whispered to Chase to keep the others (and Sam) away from this part of the house for a while. He went back to the recording studio to wait and set up the camera. He sighed, reining in his energy once again to be able to touch the electronics without breaking them.

He turned the camera on.

“̶H̵e̴l̶l̴o̷!̸ ̶Y̴e̴s̴,̶ ̴y̵e̵s̸,̵ ̶i̸t̷’̸s̸ ̷m̴e̶,̶ ̵A̶n̸t̴i̴.̷ ̸S̴t̴o̴p̵ ̷f̶r̸e̵a̶k̵i̷n̶g̴ ̸o̷u̵t̵,̸ ̶t̵h̷i̸s̶ ̴i̶s̶n̵’̶t̷ ̷p̵a̶r̷t̸ ̵o̴f̷ ̵a̶ ̷m̵a̶j̸o̵r̸ ̵s̴t̴o̶r̵y̷l̸i̸n̷e̷ ̶o̵r̸ ̴a̸n̶y̶t̷h̷i̶n̷g̶,̷ ̸ c̴a̶l̵m̴ ̸d̷o̶w̷n̶.̶ ̷I̸’̸m̶ ̸s̶u̴r̷e̸ ̶m̸o̶s̶t̵ ̵o̴f̷ ̵y̸o̵u̵ ̸h̷a̴v̵e̴ ̶f̷o̸u̵n̸d̴ ̸o̷u̶t̶ ̷a̴b̶o̵u̷t̴ ̵t̵h̷e̵ ̴s̵t̸r̵e̶a̸m̵ ̶d̵u̵e̵ ̴t̷o̵ ̸e̵i̵t̶h̵e̷r̴ ̶w̸a̵t̵c̵h̵i̸n̶g̶ ̵i̵t̴ ̴ y̵o̸u̵r̶s̸e̷l̴f̵,̷ ̴o̴r̴ ̸s̷o̷c̷i̵a̶l̷ ̸m̴e̴d̵i̷a̵,̵ ̷o̸r̸ ̷s̸o̸m̵e̴t̷h̷i̴n̷g̷ ̴l̷i̷k̵e̶ ̵t̸h̸a̸t̴.̵ ̸W̷e̷l̸l̴ ̴I̶’̵m̵ ̵h̴e̸r̸e̴ ̸t̸o̷ ̵t̶a̸l̵k̴ ̸a̸b̶o̴u̷t̸ ̴t̷h̴a̴t̶.̵”̵ ̷

He picked up the camera, trying to keep the glitching to a minimum. He moved towards the kitchen, keeping an eye out for stray egos.

“̷I̶’̵m̷ ̵h̵e̵r̷e̸ ̷t̸o̴ ̵t̴a̷l̵k̶ ̸t̵o̴ ̵y̵o̶u̴ ̵a̴n̴d̸ ̸k̸e̷e̸p̷ ̵a̷ ̴f̷e̷w̸ ̶t̸h̷i̶n̴g̵s̵ ̷o̷f̸f̶ ̵o̵f̶ ̶y̷o̴u̵r̶ ̷f̶a̸v̷o̴r̸i̸t̴e̷ ̴b̵o̴y̴’̷s̷ ̶b̴a̷c̶k̴.̴ ̸H̷e̵’̵s̷ ̵p̴r̷e̴t̷t̶y̷ ̸ s̵t̵r̴e̴s̸s̷e̸d̷ ̶a̴n̶d̸ ̴s̴h̸i̷t̵e̴,̴ ̷a̶n̷d̷ ̶I̷ ̴f̶i̶g̶u̴r̸e̵d̸ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̸ ̶I̶ ̸c̶o̷u̷l̸d̸n̸’̸t̵ ̵e̷x̵a̸c̶t̶l̸y̵ ̶d̶o̷ ̵m̵y̴ ̸j̴o̷b̶ ̶i̷f̵ ̶h̴e̴ ̷c̸o̶u̶l̴d̴n̷’̴t̸ ̴d̵o̶ ̴h̵i̵s̴ ̸s̸o̴ ̷I̸ ̶g̶r̷a̷b̴b̴e̵d̶ ̴h̷i̸s̶ ̷c̷a̷m̸e̵r̷a̴ ̸t̵o̵ ̴e̵x̴p̴l̸a̶i̸n̶.̷ ̶S̵a̴y̵ ̴h̷e̵l̶l̵o̴ ̸J̵a̵c̷k̷i̷e̵!̸”̶

Jack looked up from the table, eyes widening at the sight of the camera. “ANTI NO!-“

He tried to get up but knocked over the chair and banged his knee. Anti took the time to walk back to the studio, still keeping his eyes peeled and chuckling for the sake of the video.

“̶S̵o̷ ̶y̸e̷s̵,̵ ̵t̵h̷e̶ ̷t̷w̷o̴ ̴o̶f̴ ̵u̴s̶ ̴a̶r̴e̴ ̷d̶o̴i̴n̴g̵ ̴j̴u̸s̷t̸ ̴f̵i̸n̶e̴!̵ ̴I̷’̷m̸ ̴t̸r̴y̷i̶n̷g̴ ̶t̴o̴ ̷k̴e̷e̵p̷ ̸h̴i̵m̴ ̴f̷r̶o̵m̵ ̷n̷o̴t̸ ̵s̶l̷e̵e̵p̶i̴n̴g̷,̴ ̸b̵u̷t̵ ̸y̶o̶u̵ ̵k̸n̶o̴w̸ ̵h̵o̶w̶ ̸h̷e̷ ̴i̷s̶.̸ ̸W̴o̷r̵k̵ ̴w̶o̸r̵k̷ ̷w̵o̷r̶k̴ ̴w̸o̷r̴k̶ ̵w̶o̸r̶k̴ ̷a̸l̷l̷ ̶d̴a̸y̶ ̵a̴n̸d̷ ̷a̶l̸l̵ ̸n̸i̶g̵h̷t̶.̴ ̵Y̵o̷u̷’̵d̶ ̴t̴h̵i̸n̶k̸ ̸t̴h̶a̵t̶ ̸w̴o̸u̷l̸d̶ ̴m̶a̸k̸e̴ ̸m̵y̸ ̵j̵o̶b̷ ̶e̶a̵s̴i̶e̸r̷…̶ ̸b̶u̷t̴ ̶n̸o̶.̸ ̵I̵ ̶n̶e̴e̴d̴ ̶a̵ ̴w̷e̵l̷l̶ ̶r̵e̸s̸t̷e̴d̸ ̶h̶o̴s̷t̶!̴ ̸Y̸o̸u̶ ̵n̴e̷e̷d̷ ̸a̶ ̵w̷e̴l̵l̷ ̵r̶e̵s̶t̴e̶d̶ ̴b̵o̷i̷!̶ ̴T̸A̷K̶E̸ ̵A̸ ̶C̶H̷I̷L̸L̸ ̵P̶I̵L̴L̷ ̵ J̴A̴C̶K̵I̷E̴!̵ ̷Y̴O̸U̸ ̷N̴E̴E̸D̶ ̶Y̵O̸U̷R̵ ̴S̶L̴E̵E̵P̶!̶ ̸S̵o̷ ̷a̶n̴y̸w̸a̸y̷,̵ ̶i̸n̴s̴e̵r̷t̵ ̷o̸u̶t̷r̶o̶ ̴h̷e̵r̵e̴,̷ ̷h̷e̸l̸l̷o̸,̶ ̴g̷o̵o̴d̵b̶y̵e̷,̶ ̴a̴n̸d̷ ̴P̸A̴M̷ ̵o̶r̴ ̸w̷h̵a̷t̵e̷v̸e̷r̸.̵ ̴I̴’̷l̴l̵ ̶b̶e̵ ̴b̵a̴c̸k̵!̵”̶

He turned off the camera just in time to see Jack stumble into the doorway. “You know it’s PMA, right?”

“̸W̷h̵a̵t̷e̸v̵e̶r̶.̷ ̷Y̵o̵u̷ ̵t̸o̴l̷d̶ ̷m̷e̴ ̴t̸o̷ ̷d̸o̵ ̷t̷h̵e̴ ̸v̸i̸d̵e̵o̴,̶ ̷r̵i̶g̷h̴t̶?̴ ̷I̷ ̷d̴i̴d̵!̶”̸ ̷  He sent it to his computer.

“It was a plea of desperation Anti! I know it’s something we have to do, and I think it was a lovely gesture, but what about everyone else?! I still have to ask Robin-“

“̷N̵o̶p̴e̵.̶ ̸C̵a̷l̸l̷e̴d̸ ̶h̵i̵m̴.̷ ̷H̸e̶ ̸s̴a̵i̸d̷ ̶h̷e̸ ̸w̴a̵s̷ ̵c̸o̵o̸l̶ ̴w̴i̴t̴h̷ ̶i̶t̴.̵”̷

“Fine! I still have to ask the others! What if they got into your way?!”

“̵I̴ ̵a̸s̵k̷e̵d̵ ̷C̴h̷a̸s̶e̵ ̵t̵o̸ ̴k̶e̴e̵p̵ ̷t̶h̸e̴m̷ ̸o̵u̷t̸ ̸o̴f̵ ̶t̷h̴e̷ ̵w̶a̶y̶.̷ ̵W̵h̶a̵t̶ ̷a̷m̷ ̶I̸,̶ ̶s̸t̶u̴p̵i̶d̴?̸ ̶I̴’̷m̶ ̸y̷o̵u̷ ̵f̸o̴r̸ ̴g̸o̸o̷d̴n̷e̸s̵s̷ ̸s̷a̵k̴e̵!̶ ̴I̷ ̵ w̵a̷s̴ ̷m̴a̴d̸e̴ ̵t̶o̴ ̷b̴e̵ ̷c̷a̸l̴c̷u̷l̶a̴t̷i̵n̷g̶ ̵d̶a̷m̷m̵i̸t̴!̴”̸

“I know! God, Anti, I know. It’s just-“ Sean raked his hands through his hair, struggling for the right words.

“̴I̸t’̸s̶ ̴h̶i̴t̷t̷i̶n̸g̴ ̵y̷o̵u̸ ̷p̴r̴e̸t̵t̶y̸ ̸f̶a̸s̷t̶,̸ ̴h̷u̵h̸?̷”̴ He moved away from the electronics enough to let his aura out a bit.

Jack sagged a bit. “Yeah.” He chuckled a bit. “Man, I kinda messed up things, huh?”

“̷H̶o̶w̴ ̴d̷o̷ ̶y̵o̶u̴ ̴m̸e̸a̸n̴?̶”̵ He sat on the ground so his creator could take the chair.

“After you guys just… showed up after I created you, I just feel kind of bad about creating, well, people. I gave you shitty backstories for the sake of entertainment and now I have to see that as a personal struggle for people I care about day in and day out. It’s hard, you know?”

Anti nodded, letting the silence fill the room.

“You know, you’re not as much of a dick as I thought you were.”

Anti put a hand to his chest in mock offense. “̶A̷w̸w̶ ̵g̶e̵e̷,̸ ̸I̷ ̶t̴h̵o̷u̸g̴h̵t̸ ̷w̸e̶ ̴w̷e̷r̶e̷ ̴f̴r̴i̶e̴n̸d̷s̴.̴”̸

Jack laughed a bit. “No, I’m serious. The first year or so, you know, after you tried to kill me a couple of times, I just thought you were a loner. Now I kind of see you as a temperamental friend.”

“̸E̸m̸p̵h̵a̸s̴i̴s̵ ̴o̷n̵ ̵t̶h̷e̶ ̷t̵e̸m̶p̶e̸r̷a̴m̵e̷n̶t̶a̷l̵.̶ ̴Y̵o̷u̴ ̶k̸n̴o̷w̴ ̸I̶ ̶c̵o̷u̵l̶d̷ ̴s̷t̶i̷l̵l̷ ̷k̷i̸l̷l̴ ̸y̷o̴u̶ ̶b̷e̶f̷o̸r̶e̶ ̵t̴h̶e̴ ̷o̶t̴h̵e̶r̴s̶ ̸h̴e̸a̸r̵d̶ ̴y̴o̵u̷ ̷ s̴c̴r̷e̸a̶m̷,̴ ̷r̵i̴g̸h̶t̷?̴”̸

Jack waved his hand. “Aww, stop. You’re making me blush.”

Anti fought back a scowl. “W̵e̸l̷l̷ ̸w̴e̷ ̷d̴e̷f̵i̷n̶i̵t̷e̵l̵y̷ ̴w̵o̸u̸l̵d̸n̸’̸t̷ ̵w̵a̵n̸t̷ ̶t̸h̵a̸t̶.̷ ̴Y̴o̶u̴ ̴c̵o̷o̴l̸?̸ ̸Y̶o̵u̶ ̷p̵e̶a̷c̷h̵y̷?̴”̷

“Is this so we can stop talking Anti?”

He looked around. “M̶a̸y̶b̷e̴.̶ ̸I̸ ̸j̷u̸s̵t̴ ̸d̶o̴n̷’̷t̸ ̷k̴n̷o̸w̴ ̴h̷o̵w̴ ̵y̷o̴u̷ ̸d̸o̸ ̸t̷h̸i̷s̷ ̸a̸l̸l̵ ̷t̵h̴e̴ ̸t̴i̶m̴e̴,̵ ̴o̸k̴a̸y̵?”

“Aww, is little baby Anti shy? Does he need a blanket?” Anti glared at him. “Doh, wittle baby Anti needs his- eck!” Anti had reached over and, in a flash, held him pressed up against the wall, a small knife pointed at his right eye.

“̶D̸o̸n̸’̴t̶ ̴p̴a̸t̵r̵o̴n̵i̷z̸e̶ ̴m̸e̸.̸ ̶I̶ ̵k̶n̵o̷w̶ ̴e̵x̶a̴c̴t̵l̸y̷ ̸w̵h̶e̴r̷e̷ ̷a̸l̵l̴ ̶o̶f̷ ̷y̴o̶u̵r̶ ̶b̴u̵t̸t̷o̶n̷s̸ ̸a̸r̷e̵.̸ ̶C̸a̷p̸i̵c̸h̴e̶?̸”̸

There was a small nod as his creator’s eyes fixed on the knife.

“̶G̷o̵o̸d̷.̶ ̶S̷e̵e̷ ̷y̵a̶ ̶a̷r̷o̶u̶n̶d̸ ̴J̷a̵c̴k̸i̸e̶b̴o̸y̶.̶”̵

He released the pressure with a wink and teleported to the other side of the house, slipping the knife into his pocket. They were crowded into the closest bedroom that wasn’t in the line of sight: his.

“Everything okay? We heard a bit of shouting. Is he-?”

“̴E̴v̴e̴r̷y̶t̷h̷i̶n̷g̵’̵s̵ ̷f̶i̸n̶e̸.̴ ̵N̴o̵w̸ ̴i̶f̷ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̵w̶i̴l̷l̵ ̷e̶x̵c̸u̴s̴e̷ ̸m̸e̴,̴ ̵I̴ ̸w̵o̶u̴l̶d̴ ̸l̶i̴k̸e̴ ̴m̵y̷ ̶b̶e̴d̸r̵o̸o̵m̸ ̸u̵n̶o̴c̸c̵u̴p̴i̷e̴d̸.̴”̵

They scurried out like mice and he sat down heavily on his bed, putting the knife on his nightstand. He moved away the mattress and picked up a notebook. He flipped a few pages compromised entirely of tally marks. He added one to the list and tried to ignore the faint ebb of guilt. That was what this stupid thing was for, right?

He (once again,) resolved to try harder to rein in his anger.

Ugh, why did he even try?

He flipped the cover shut and stuck it back under his bed, not noticing the lamplight eyes that stared at him through the window.

He should go and edit the video.

The cat outside scampered away.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anti's trying to be better. It's just... not working as quickly as he'd like. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading, and the support on this still staggers me. I'm sure some of it is because it's crazy long and stuff, but honestly it's kind of shocking how something like this still manages to end up kind of working. I mean, sure there's a lot of plot holes and some of the characters aren't the best and all that stuff, but I'm trying to make that so it doesn't happen in the future, you know? Have a great day, and I'll see you guys in the next one.


	75. S̸a̵y̸ ̶H̶e̶l̴l̷o̷!̴

Dee was browsing Youtube when a video from Jack uploaded. That was strange… he usually didn’t post at this time. Even stranger was the thumbnail and title: SAY HELLO! in zalgo no less, and the thumbnail was of Anti.

He clicked the video and watched, mouth slightly agape. He paused it and immediately sent it to Sans and Logan. Then he went back to the video, stunned at what he saw. They were revealing that Anti was real? That wasn’t a very good idea… But he supposed it was an answer the community needed. But what if they suspected the truth? That all of them were real? What would they do then?

He finished the video and popped over to Tumblr. It didn’t seem like too many people were freaking out… granted Anti had been very careful to keep the others out of the video as well. He watched the video again, scouring it for details. Nope, not even one hint. That was rather lucky. He’d have to tell him to be very careful the next time he saw either him or Dark.

Well. That was an interesting development. However, it did seem to be what the community was asking for. Risky, but it did seem to work out in the end.

He’d have to keep an eye out for the next few days. He eyed the back of his wrist. He’d been very careful to not do magic in the last few days, but it was like a pulled muscle he couldn’t stretch out. He really needed to either accept that he was eventually going to turn into a snake and get on with his life or they needed to find a cure.

And fast.

 

\-------

 

Chase was doing some trickshots in Marvin’s room when he yelped, feeling a slight burning twinge run through his body. He blinked hard-

And he was sitting on the Sander’s couch. Face to face with a very surprised Virgil and Roman, who were playing Jenga.

“OH MY GOD!”

“AAAHHHH CHASE?!”

He jumped up and flung himself behind the couch on instinct.

“Chase? Is that you? How’d you get here?” Virgil peeked over the edge of the couch.

“I have no idea. I was practicing my trickshots in Marvin’s room because I was bored, but I just kinda appeared here, ya know?” He popped up.

There was an annoyed noise as Dark, of all people, came down the stairs.

|Chase? What are you doing here?|

“Enough about me, what are you doing here?”

|Conversing about a grand matter of things you couldn’t possibly understand.| He winced as the red in his aura flared. |My... apologies. That was rather rude.|

Chase was impressed. “Okay, who has been teaching him manners?”

“He isn’t a terrible conversationalist. And Celine, that was rather rude.” Dee appeared at the top of the stairs. “Damien, don’t be brash. Hello Chase.”

Who the hell were Damien and Celine? Hmm.

“Hiya- how do I get home before they notice?”

|Oh, they noticed a while ago. Marvin was cursing and Schneep was frantic when I left.|

He stared at Dark, who shrugged. |Time works different here. I’ve been here half an hour, but you’ve been gone, oh, around three hours?|

His jaw dropped. “THREE HOURS?! We were going to record a video! Shit- Anti is gonna be pissed-!”

Dark sighed and reached over to grab his arm before his world disappeared in a burst of static.

 

\------

 

Jack welcomed Dark’s old friends into the foyer. “Jim! Jim! It’s nice to see you! Anti’s setting up some stuff over in the kitchen for the newest video. How are the Jims back home?”

The one in the blue shirt set down his camera bag. “Oh, Mother Jim is good! Cousin Jim has a cold, but Uncle Jim is taking care of her and it’s all going to be fine. Say-“

Red-shirted Jim broke in. “-What’s the video gonna be about? We’ve been wondering the whole time up here, let me tell you.” He put down his identical bag as well, which held recording equipment.

“I’m sorry to hear that Jim isn’t doing well. Give all of your Jims my best wishes. I think they were talking about doing a game of Monopoly, although I’m not quite sure how that will work.”

|Jim and Jim! This is unexpected! Here to help them with their video?|

“Yes, yes! I heard that they’d be doing Monopoly! There are a number of interesting shots we could do for that…”

“-Will you be playing, Jack?” Jim raised a hand like he was holding an invisible microphone. His brother leaned on his shoulder in curiosity.

Jack laughed. “Maybe, maybe. I haven’t seen the script yet, so I doubt it, but I think Chase will be vlogging the whole thing for a home movie. Honestly, with all of them, who knows what will happen.”

They meandered into the dining room, where they were setting up a game of monopoly. King was over, dressed like Mark. He waved, scooping peanut butter out of a jar.

 “Oh, are ve going to do some behind the scenes with ze three of us?”

There was a loud banging on the door. Anti went and got it, Sean close at his heels.

Mark stood there panting on the doorstep.

“What the hell?” He jumped back about three feet.

“̷O̷h̸ ̷h̷i̴ ̵M̴a̸r̷k̴.̶”̷

“Hey! Please don’t kill me!” He said casually, throwing his hands into the air and leaning on the doorframe.

Anti rolled his eyes. “̵O̶h̶,̴ ̸p̴l̶e̶a̵s̷e̸.̷ ̷L̵i̶k̵e̸ ̴y̷o̴u̴ ̶w̶o̷u̴l̸d̷ ̵b̶e̷ ̶f̸u̴n̴ ̵t̶o̵ ̷k̶i̴l̸l̸.̸ ̸N̶a̸h̶,̶ ̷t̴h̷a̵t̶’̵s̵ ̷D̴a̷r̵k̸’̷s̷ ̵d̵o̵m̶a̵i̸n̷.̴ ̴I̸ ̸ p̵r̸e̶f̵e̸r̷ ̵p̴u̴p̶p̸e̴ts,̷ ̶h̵e̶ ̴p̸r̸e̶f̴e̷r̶s̵ ̶p̴l̴a̷y̵t̵h̸i̸n̶g̴s̷.̴”̸ ̶He smiled as Mark gulped.

“Anti! Hey, Mark, it’s nice to see you! This was unexpected!” He pushed the glitch aside to hug his friend.

“Yeah, you didn’t pick up your phone! I thought you were in trouble!”

He raised a brow. “So you came here from LA? Bejesus Mark!”

“What?! I was worried that you were dead!”

“No, no! I wouldn’t die so easily. Besides, he’s threatened to kill me for what, the last couple of years? He wouldn’t actually do it.”

Both Anti and Mark just stared at him. “What?”

“Oh my god you’re an idiot.” Mark buried his face in his hand.

Anti simply smiled- that insane, unhinged smile of his. He glitched wildly for a split second, one version of him holding his knife and bearing his teeth.

“Jack. Sean. Pal of mine. Don’t underestimate your alter-ego. Don’t. I know you’re smarter than that.”

|Speaking of alter-egos, I brought back Chase. You can begin the video if you want. Hello Mark.| Dark nodded a polite hello and disappeared up the stairs.

“̶N̴o̵!̴ ̴W̵a̶i̶t̸-̶ ̴d̴a̵n̸g̵ ̶i̷t̸! ̶I̴ ̷w̴a̵n̵t̸e̵d̵ ̷h̸i̶m̵ ̶i̷n̴ ̴t̵h̶i̴s̶ ̵o̷n̶e̴.̵”̸ Anti disappeared after him.

“Wilford would be happy to take that role. You know he would.”

“Yeah, yeah- I think Anti wants a separate series just focused on their relationships. The fact that they can play something simple like Monopoly without being at each other’s throats. That kind of-“

“The Host interrupts the conversation to point out that the egos have had bad relationships with that game in the past. He wished to remind them that he used to have eyes.”

“Oh, hello Host. You really lost your eyes in a game of Monopoly?” Jack looked unnerved.

“The Host wishes to point out that Wilford is very protective of Boardwalk. Perhaps Jack should politely suggest that Anti try a different game to avoid future bloodshed. That is all.”

He moved into the house, talking quietly about points of view and segways.

“You could just go tell him that yoursel- and he’s gone. Did you bring Host by the way?”

“I needed his narrating powers to tell me if you died or not. He said something about you getting attacked-?“

“You’re right. I really shouldn’t antagonize Anti.”

“Wow. You’re an idiot.”

“I know.”

They moved inside, chatting amicably about nothing in particular.

 

\-------

 

Remy was running late. Dammit. He sprinted along Fourth Street, cursing under his breath. He prided himself on the fact that this was his first job he had never ran late to unless he was stuck in another dimension. He got there and slipped through the door just as the purple clock on the wall rang nine. He put his hands on his knees, panting.

“Hhhh- Sorry I’m late- hhhhh- got caught up in something. Family- hhhh emergency. Hehh…”

Muffet was standing behind the counter smiling as usual.

“That’s fine deary! Today has been a slow morning so I’ll cut you some slack.~” She winked. “But try not to do it again. I missed my human worker.”

Remy feigned a blush, which wasn’t hard given how breathless he was. “Aww. You really do care. I’ll definitely be buying some coffee today though- my dad got into it while we were gone and loves it more than his tea. Did you fix the issues you were having with the brewing process?”

She waved him off. “Yes, it’s perfectly fine for human coffee machines. And,” She gave a smile. “Microwaves.”

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Good. Because I’m tired of having to pay for microwaves.” They both laughed, he threw on his apron and got to work.

It soon became a busy day. The regulars all came in at some point- Borealis, Undyne and Alphys, Alex and Emi, a couple of other human and monsters. He broke for a rather uneventful lunch. Muffet stepped out to go get some ingredients from Grillby.

“Hey monster boy.”

He’d gotten a couple of people call him this, but he’d talked to Muffet about it and they’d agreed to just ignore it.

“Hey, you her servant or something? They haven’t brainwashed you, have they? Fuck, hey Rebe, they’re brainwashing people.”

He looked up to see a tall jock of a man who had to be three or four years older than he was. Shame.

“May I help you?”

“Oh, he does speak!” His friend- a petite brunette- giggled beside him, holding onto his arm at what was supposed to be a cute gesture that almost made him gag. Must be Rebe.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Your remarks are rather rude, and the management would rather not interrupt the well-being of our customers.” He moved across the counter to get out, and the jock followed him, disentangling himself from his ‘friend’.

He got to the opening, and a hand slammed itself down on top, keeping it from opening. The spiders that were in the front sensed danger and scuttled to the back.

“Excuse me.” It didn’t budge. The man leered at him through a pair of poorly-worn sunglasses.

“What, going to leave before your mistress tells you? Bold move spiderboy.”

Dee simply stepped back towards the cash register and vaulted himself over the low part of the counter so he stood next to the girl.

“Hey. I’m sorry to disturb your morning but you’re causing quite a scene and I have to ask you to leave. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, or I will use force.” He really would rather not have to. These people didn’t deserve that- even if they were bigoted idiots with way more ego than brain cells.

“Get away from my girl you-“ And he said it. That bastard said one of the few words that gave him the perfect right to throw him out on his ass and not get in trouble from Muffet. It was a nasty slur that a certain group still used to disrespect monsters and their allies. He noticed several people start in their seats and grow angry- not all of them monsters. A child started to cry. Undyne, who was still chatting and eating with Alphys, began to get up angrily. Dee waved her down and faced the man again, whose companion had attached to him rather like a limpet.

“I see you’ve taken the forceful option. Well hon, I’m glad to see that the security footage will record your endeavors at slander and we have every right to kick you from the establishment.” He narrowed his eyes, casually raising some of the less breakable objects from the counter for the intimidation factor. He could easily handle himself with his powder, but he’d rather scare them off just in case.

The girl patted her companion’s arm and stepped back a few feet, so the blonde had room. For fists he presumed. He rolled his eyes and let the objects drop to the ground, clapping his hands instead. A glittery golden cloud surrounded the three of them, and there were two heavy thumps as they slumped to the ground, Remy standing still after the dust cleared. He nodded to the rest of the café.

“I am legally required to say sorry for the inconvenience. However,” He nudged the snoring teen with his foot. “I would appreciate some help getting these two out. After that I’ll happily pour some coffee samples for anyone who wants them as an apology.”

Nonetheless they were out before you could say infinitesimal.

He happily poured some samples for those who wanted it and gave the few others some small cookies they’d made for a test batch that morning. People really loved the coffee.

Muffet was rather surprised when she saw that the entire coffee supply was out by the time she returned but she just winked at him when he shrugged and went to her office to look at the security tapes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe... Remy's a badass. They're all badass. Heh, fiction. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading! I hope you liked it, and have a great day! The support on all of this has been wonderful, and thank you all for enjoying this with me! We're wrapping it up in the next little bit, but there will be a sequel on the way (once I write it) and we can have fluff! Marvelous, marvelous fluff! Heh, this work has totally turned into a crackfic intermixed with crippling angst with a scatter of something resembling plot I swear...


	76. Glitches and Glitter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Doctor Strange has arrived!  
> And may I say that your c̶a̶p̶e̶ cloak looks quite fabulous.~
> 
> (Also Loki but who cares about him?)

Anti had been cajoled into watching Disney movies. Normally he would have flung the thought into the deepest reaches of space with a knife or two, but the look on Chase’s face made him reconsider his options.

And now there was a superhero on his legs and a magician way too close for comfort. He was really uncomfortable but resisted the urge to shriek because the sound of feedback would wake Sean up, who was dozing in the armchair. A cat lay on Marvin’s lap, who sat next to Chase.

Then Jackieboy Man got off of his legs with a yelp, which caused Anti to jump with a start, which caused Marvin to disappear in a shower of glitter. Aw, now that would be there for weeks… he’d have it in his hair and-

Patton just stood there with a confused expression on his face. JJ cautiously poked him with the end of his cane from his position sprawled on one end of the rug.

Patton flinched and stepped back, narrowly missing the arm of Jameson and walking straight into Wilford, who was leaning on the fireplace. He awoke with a start, which caused the fireplace tongs to clatter to the ground with a crash and Jack to bolt upright, eyes wide in terror. Sam was launched from his face into Patton’s outstretched hands.

There was a tense silence amidst the small whimpers of Sam and the heavy breathing of people startled into wakefulness.

“…”

“…”

Chase was still having a minor freak out. He had been very close to sleep and had been poked in the arm by the frantic claws of the cat, who had scratched him in his attempts to get away. That left him rather panicked, and King was trying to soothe him quietly to little avail. Patton gently placed Sam onto Jack’s feet and cautiously walked towards Chase. Chase edged back into the couch as much as he could, and Patton stopped, a worried expression on his face.

Anti got up and moved away as to not freak the man out more. He knows he’s pushed him to the edge a few times, but King and Henrik would probably be the best to handle such a situation.

And Henrik was working on some stuff in his room, so he had better leave that to King.

He waved Patton over and took him to his room, so they could sort things out instead.

“̷S̸o̵…̴ ̴w̷h̵a̴t̶’̸c̴h̷a̵ ̷d̵o̸i̴n̷g̷ ̸h̶e̸r̷e̴?̶ ̷I̸ ̵t̸a̷k̷e̵ ̸i̶t̴ ̷y̶o̵u̸ ̶t̴e̶l̷e̶p̵o̴r̴t̵e̷d̶?̶”̶

“Uh- yeah? I swear I had no idea that it would work-“

He shrugged. “̷T̷h̴a̵t̷’̶s̵ ̷f̷i̴n̸e̶.̸ ̸D̷o̵n̸’̴t̷ ̶w̵o̶r̵r̷y̴ ̶a̸b̴o̸u̵t̴ ̴C̵h̸a̵s̵e̸-̵ ̷h̶e̶ ̶i̵s̵ ̶k̷i̸n̴d̷a̵ ̵s̷u̷s̸c̶e̶p̴t̸i̶b̶l̵e̵ ̷t̸o̸ ̸t̴h̶i̷s̷ ̸k̶i̴n̷d̶ ̴o̵f̸ ̸t̴h̵i̷n̸g̷ ̴ a̴n̵d̵ ̷t̵h̵e̶ ̵s̷u̵d̶d̴e̷n̵ ̴w̴a̸k̵e̸-̵u̵p̵ ̸d̷i̵d̶n̸’̴t̶ ̶h̶e̴l̵p̷.̴ ̸H̵e̶ ̵s̷h̸o̵u̴l̸d̴ ̷b̸e̶ ̶f̶i̷n̴e̵ ̶i̷n̶ ̵a̵ ̸h̴a̵l̶f̴-̷h̶o̷u̸r̶ ̴o̸r̸ ̷s̶o̵.̵ ̵W̷a̶n̵t̴ ̸m̶e̷ ̶t̸o̷ ̵g̸e̵t̸ ̷y̶o̶u̴ ̶b̸a̶c̴k̷?̶ ̴P̸e̴o̵p̸l̴e̵ ̸a̴r̵e̷ ̵p̸r̵o̷b̴a̴b̴l̷y̴ ̸w̸o̷r̶r̴y̵i̷n̷’̵.̴”̶

“Uh, sure. Sorry to interrupt-“

He waved him off. “̸E̴h̷,̵ ̶n̷a̸h̴.̷ ̵I̷ ̷w̸a̴s̴ ̵g̵e̸t̷t̴i̴n̴g̴ ̶k̸i̶n̸d̸a̵ ̴u̸n̶c̸o̸m̴f̴o̸r̷t̵a̶b̷l̵e̷ ̴a̸n̸y̴w̷a̴y̶.̴ ̷I̵ ̶s̸h̴o̸u̸l̷d̴ ̵g̵e̸t̶ ̶s̶o̵m̸e̸ ̴s̴l̶e̵e̵p̶ ̷a̴n̶y̸w̷a̸y̴.̷”̴ ̴He offered his arm with a huge grin and they disappeared in a burst of green static.

 

\--------

 

Marvin appeared in a stone courtyard. How did he get here? He knelt, feeling some residual magic form Anti amidst the large energy signature of the building. Anti had been here- and he’d had to use his magic. Had there been a fight? He straightened, adjusting his mask-

And he was suddenly in another place with a feeling like he’d just been jerked. That wasn’t a very pleasant sensation. His attention was focused however on a man floating before him, red cloak splayed. Dramatic much?

“Hello again.”

Wait, again? Oh, he must think he was Anti.

“You have me confused with my roommate. My name is Marvin.”

The man cocked his head to the side. “Hmm. Well Marvin, I am Doctor Stephen Strange, master of the mystic arts and-“ Marvin couldn’t hold back a snicker. “Excuse me?”

Marvin straightened up. “I am sorry to inform you,” He summoned some of his magic. “But there are many more types of magic than what you do. It would be folly to assume that you master them all.” His body fell to the floor and he rose to meet the level of the Doctor.

“Nonsense. Magic itself is present everywhere in the universe, and no matter what object or spell it has the same basic signature that makes it, and all other magic, connected. Your little trick isn’t just yours.”

Marvin sunk back into his body. “True, but that is still a delusion of grandeur. You are not the master, but neither am I. We are both very excellent,” He said, nodding his head in recognition to the man before him, “But we are not masters of the craft. There is, and always will be magic we don’t, or can’t, discover.”

“Well said.” The man touched down before him. “Then I am the Master of my craft. Besides, it's not as if I chose the name.” Marvin shrugged.

“Suit yourself. Now why am I here? I aimed to teleport somewhere else. What is this place anyway?”

“This is the Sanctum. As for the teleportation, I have no idea. If I may…” He moved quickly and grabbed one of his hairs.

“Hey!” The man didn’t notice, apparently turning it into magic and observing something.

“That’s strange…. You are a human, correct?”

“Sort of.” He really didn’t want to get into the details about how he was basically a character come to life and Sean had accidentally created a magician who was very good at a magic system he had no idea existed.

“Sort of? What are you, a half-breed?”

He spun around. “Now that is rather rude! I am as human as they come, but what if you had met one, eh? That would have been inexcusable!”

The Doctor was unruffled. “Then what are you? You can’t just be nothing.”

Oh, on the contrary. Marvin waved them over to the two leather chairs. “Have a seat.”

This was going to be a long story.

A flash of green light was unnoticed by the two as a figure crouched in the rafters.

 

\----

 

“Have you heard of the YouTube channel Jacksepticeye?”

Strange shook his head. Marvin pushed on. “Well, there is a lot of power channeled from speaker to audience. We were merely characters. But somehow, we became alive. Free-thinking. Sure, some of us were murderous-“

“Anti.”

“-yes- but overall we were just channeled into being, pun not intended. While I am not quite sure how we became living-“

“You have some theories.”

“Obviously. Now please stop interrupting. As I was saying, I believe that Sean- or Jack- is a medium of sorts with inherent magical abilities of his own. We were created by the belief that we exist, and we have stayed that way.”

“Well that is an interesting story-“

“It is no story! I would prove it if I could-“

“̸I̷ ̶c̷a̵n̸.̸”̸ ̴  A man landed neatly behind Marvin’s chair, all asmirk. Was that even a word?

Strange jolted back. “YOU!”

“̴M̵e̷.̸ ̷H̵e̷l̷l̸o̶ ̶M̷a̸r̴v̵i̴e̶.̷”̵

“Don’t call me that Anti.”

“̶N̵o̶.̴ ̶I̵ ̵d̵o̴ ̸w̵h̶a̴t̵ ̸I̴ ̷w̴a̵n̷t̵.̷ ̸B̴e̷s̷i̴d̵e̴s̵,̸”̵ He leaned over, grabbing Marvin’s shoulder tightly and causing him to wince. “Y̶o̶u̷ ̸d̵o̷n̵’̷t̴ ̴w̷a̵n̴t̵ ̶t̶o̵ ̴m̶e̶s̴s̶ ̴w̴i̶t̷h̶ ̵t̸h̸e̷ ̸l̶i̷k̶e̶s̷ ̵o̶f̶ ̶u̷s̵.̶”̷ He took the two of them away with a mess of green glitches and glitter, the chair covered in a thin layer of sparkle. Strange sighed, waving it away.

Marvin turned to him, the two of them appearing in the middle of a large field. “What the hell Anti! He could be an enemy now, and we have enough to deal with! Do you know what kind of powers you tapped into?!”

Anti just grinned and shrugged, gesturing to the direction of the middle of the field. “I̸ ̷s̸e̴e̴ ̵w̸e̶ ̷h̵a̶v̶e̷ ̶a̶ ̷g̷u̵e̸s̷t̷.” He leaned forwards and whispered, his nails sharp on the man’s collar. “W̷e̴'̸l̵l̴ ̷t̵a̶l̶k̷ ̵a̷b̵o̸u̶t̵ ̷t̴h̸i̴s̸ ̶l̶a̸t̵e̷r̴.̶”

Marvin just rolled his eyes and turned towards the man watching them with a strange curiosity. “Hello…?”

The man simply smiled at them, his blue-green eyes glittering and calculating. “Welcome. Please kneel.”

“Now why would I do that?”

The man simply turned his head to the side. “Because if you don’t you will die. I thought that was rather common sense. Now **kneel**!” A flash of blue came from a scepter that appeared in his hand and it poked Anti in the chest.

Anti jittered and fell to his knees, glitching wildly and his right eye glowing like it did only when he was extending his magic to the fullest. He was trying to fight it.

“Good.” The man looked at Marvin. “Now you.” The scepter glowed again, the blue reflected in the man's eyes, making them even bluer than before. He tried to fight it-

But his mind was swept away in a tidal wave of blue, burning the edges with an ice-cold fire as soon as the scepter touched his torso. He felt himself fall to his knees and bow his head. The conscious part of his brain focused on the magical energy radiating and making up both of them. And, although it flickered, he felt Anti in there.

Good.

Now let’s just hope against all laws of the universe that this guy didn’t want them to kill other people. Well, he knew Anti would have fun with it. But he’d rather not to be honest.

“Stand.” He felt himself stand, his eyes staring blankly ahead. “What can you do?”

“Serve.” The man sighed, gesturing with his hand and looking annoyed.

“Yes, yes, obviously. Other than that?”

He held the secrets of his magic close to his chest. He hoped that-

“Strategize. Plan. Fight if needed but only average.” Oh thank jimbalooshy.

“Any abilities?” Magic didn’t quite count as an ability, did it?

“Parlor tricks. Sleight of hand. Nothing of worth to someone such as yourself.” Dang, he was an ass when he was mind controlled.

“Hmm. That will suffice. And you? What are you?”

 

“̶̢̠̙̩͎͕̺̙͍͗͑̑͐̇̈́̂̒͘̕͜Ę̶̤̭͍̭̞̣̻̺͔̉̒̓͐̃͘͝͠͝r̶̡̡̙͖̩͈̱̝̉̆̇̈́͗̉̅̈͘͠ͅͅr̴̡̠͔̞̰͍̱̼̠̟͌͆͒͌́͐̇̄̎͂o̴̧̝̙͚̳̤̰̙̝̩̒̓̊͑̉́͒̕͠͠r̴̨̤̻̙̟̤͇̥̫͓̓́̾̾͋̓̎͆̕͠.̷̨̛̝̫̭̳̜̤̫̫̊̃̉̆̐̑͘̕ͅ”̷̡̙̱̲̟̹͙̜̣̬͑̓̈́̈́̾̑̀̏̚̚ ̸̇Oh shit. Was Anti going to disappear on them? Glitch from reality?

 

“Fine. You. Who is he?” He snapped his fingers at Marvin.

“My roommate. His name is Anti. He’s a… it’s complicated. The best term would be a human glitch.” His voice was cold and flat. Being controlled did zero wonders on proper inflection and tone.

The man’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Anti. “Any abilities?”

“In this state? No.”

“And normally?”

“He’s insane. Unpredictable. Ruthless. Destructive.”

“I’m not looking for fill-in-the-blanks. Give me answers. **Now**.” The scepter glowed once more, and he felt a jolt of pain flicker through his head as the answer was forcibly taken.

“Many things. Can summon knives. Teleport by glitching reality. Limited mind and body control. Tends to make deals and think his way out of a situation.” He was shaking, covered in sweat from the toll it took on his magic reserves to have them absent from his mind like this. If only he could take what was left of his magic and escape with what was left of Anti- but then his captor would have a mindless droid that followed his every whim and with magic to boot. And a walking knife.

He fell backwards, the magic keeping his strength up completely sapping. The man in green picked him off of the ground with ease and cocked his head. He felt an invasive force in his head, tearing for information with neither thought nor care. He snapped his fingers, looking thoughtful. He put the scepter to Marvin’s chest and pulled, the fire receding and his limbs tingling as his magic returned.

The man stood close to his face while he recovered. “What are you?” He hissed, his eyes a bright blue as he held the scepter. He twisted it, and wisps of blue light swarmed into his head once more, carefully prying out the information. “A magician? Hmm. You may prove useful. Your abilities are more than simple sleight of hand, aren’t they?” A hand raised and slipped off his mask, marveling at the complex rune on his forehead. “The Rune of Tiwaz. Interesting. What power do you hold, Marvin the Magician?”

He shook slightly as the man forced his way into his mind manually, eyes now glowing a brighter blue than his own. Anti continued to glitch beside him as his mind was torn apart. He wanted to scream. He’d been through hell, but this was probably among the worst thing he’d encountered. His vision danced with black spots.

The pain slowly ebbed as the man stood back. “Hmm. I will keep you alive for now. You may prove useful.” He was touched on the arm once again by the scepter and his body grew docile as his magic retreated once more. He turned to Anti.

“Now you….. I don’t know about you. The magician may have all the fighting power I need. I’m afraid,” He said, raising his scepter and getting ready to pull. “That you will have to be disposed of.”

Anti stopped jittering abruptly, his body as still as a normal human’s. His head rose slowly, his mouth bared in a smile too large for his mouth. His left eye was green and blue, his right completely dark.

 **"Do you have any idea what you've done?"** Disembodied laughter rang around him as his hands lengthened, the nails and fingertips turning blood-red. **“You've only made me more powerful."** He blasted forwards in a jagged arc of bright green light-

And the man was gone. Dissolved into magic. Anti fell to the ground, growling slightly. “D̶a̶m̵n̵ ̷i̶t̶.̴”̵

Marvin went closer. “You alright?” It was a feeble question, but he wasn’t sure what to say.

“I̷’̶m̶ ̵f̷i̵n̷e̸.̷ ̸W̴a̶n̶t̴ ̴t̴o̷ ̵k̶i̷l̴l̷ ̸s̶o̸m̸e̴o̵n̵e̴ ̵b̸u̸t̷ ̶t̵h̷a̵t̵ ̸i̴s̷n̷’̷t̴ ̸e̴x̸a̶c̶t̷l̵y̷ ̷u̴n̶u̵s̴u̸a̵l̵ ̷f̸o̶r̵ ̶m̷e̸.̶ ̸L̵e̷t̴’̷s̴ ̷g̵e̴t̶ ̴h̵o̶m̵e̵ ̵s̷o̸ ̶I̴ ̸c̷a̶n̸ ̴s̸t̶a̵r̷t̶ ̷t̴h̷e̵ ̸n̷e̷x̶t̵ ̵e̷p̴i̸s̸o̸d̴e̴.” Sure. He totally believed that Anti didn’t miss home after the fact that he had almost died. Sure.

A hand grasped his arm and they disappeared in glitches and glitter.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehehehehehehehe~
> 
> Man, I am using a lot of evil laughs. Huh. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! I also hope you are all also doing well. The fires in California are bad, and to any fellow Californians I hope you're alright. The same to anybody else in the world! It can be a scary place, but all we can do is hope that it will hopefully get better soon. Thank you for reading, and feel free to comment on ideas you have for interactions! I̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶d̶e̶a̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶e̶q̶u̶e̶l̶ ̶l̶o̶l̶
> 
> I hope you all have a great day!


	77. Engagements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little calm before the storm~
> 
> (Also I'm using google translate so if it's awful I'm sorry.)

It was raining. Alex, Emi and the other SOULS were camping on Mt. Ebbot to celebrate the one year anniversary of the barrier breaking. They couldn’t believe that it had been a year… Oh, and Papyrus was with them with his husband.

“COME ON! LET’S STOP BOONDOGGLING AND EAT OUR NON-WATERDOGS!”

They were camped out under a large tent supported by bones as Papyrus tended the fire under Robin’s supervision. Irik and Joan were digging out stuff to make s’mores, and Alex and Emi were preparing the table.

They ate and sang stupidly cheesy campfire songs. They chatted and goofed off and made dumb jokes. They listened to the rain and watched the clouds and tried to play the ukulele.

“Okay, okay! Anyone have any song requests?” There was a silence. Then-

“Never Gonna Give You Up!” Joan smiled at the speaker, who was assembling yet another s’more.

“Okay, okay, I think we’ve done enough memes for tonight. Let’s try something else. And no, no Campfire Song Song either.” There were a few groans, but Papyrus sighed happily.

“Fine! How’z about…” They paused, fingering their notebook. “Singing In The Rain?” Papyrus groaned.

“Aww Emi, I love it when you try to do slang.” Alex said, nudging them with their shoulder.

Joan laughed. “If we’re going along those lines we’re doing It’s Raining Men for ol’ Papy and MTT here.” Papyrus let out another groan, although rather halfhearted. Metta laughed and hugged his husband. They started to sing, their voices echoing in the rain.

“I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain-“

“WHAT A GLORIOUS FEELING, I’M HAPPY AGAIN.-”

“I’m laughing at clouds, so far up above.-“

“The sun’s in my heart, and I’m ready for love.” Emi snuggled into Alex on the chair.

They laughed and clapped as Alex gently kissed the top of their head.

“With a happy refrain~” Metta reminded them of the song.

“Just singing, singing in the rain!”

Papy dragged Mettaton to his feet. “I’M DANCING IN THE RAIN!” They slowdanced together a bit before swapping to a tango.

“I’m happy again!~”

They kept dancing, Irik beating out a beat with some bones grabbed from Papyrus’s stash.

“I’M SINGING AND DANCING IN THE RAIN!” He kissed Metta and dipped him until his head almost touched the floor. They all clapped.

They broke off laughing as the tarp collapsed on top of him and dumped a bucket-full of water onto his skull. He gasped, throwing a fist to the sky. “I WILL NOT BE MADE A MOCKERY OF BY WATER!” He went out into the rain to beat at it, getting himself quickly soaked. Joan tossed the instrument aside and joined him, doing some weird dance style only known to Joan. Alex and Emi grabbed a massive umbrella and joined them to dance in the puddles. It seemed music was over for now.

 

\---------

 

Frisk and Toriel were baking pie and listening to the radio to cover up the sound of thunder. There was a knock at the door and Toriel hurried to answer it.

“Who could it be at this time- oh my goodness! Come in, come in! Let me grab some towels-“

“It’s fine Toriel. Thank you.” Roman and Dee came in wrapped in huge fluffy towels. Toriel hurried into the kitchen to grab some tea.

“Why didn’t you conjure an umbrella?” frisk washed their hands and came over to hug them.

“Well, Romano here wouldn’t let me.” Dee grumbled, looking over to an exasperated Roman.

“Oh come on! Will that nickname never die?! And besides, we were only a block away when the skies opened- it wasn’t that bad! Where’s your sense of adventure?!”

“I dunno- probably with the common sense and good taste I lost ages ago.”

 Even Toriel had to laugh at that retort. “Oh my. You definitely have inherited your father’s quick wit. Have you heard the story of when you were… away… and he went to a PTA Meeting with Henrik and Riverperson? Sans and I were there- it was quite an experience.”

“Oh god, who did he compare them to this time?” Roman wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be concerned.

“Linda to Roz.” That sent both of them laughing.

“Oh my god!” Roman was doubled over. Dee had paused in drying his coat to laugh. He soon moved onto wiping off his mask while it was still on his face and putting his backpack on the nearest chair to make sure the homework inside was dry. That reminded Frisk of what lay upstairs.

Frisk nodded. “He’s right though. She even looks like her.” That sent all of them laughing again.

“Frisk! That was rude!” Toriel was still smiling, betraying her actual feelings.

“Sorry.” They didn’t look sorry at all.

Toriel ruffled their hair. “It’s alright. Just don’t do it again, okay? Now while I’m baking go run upstairs- the three of you can go do your homework. Before you groan Roman- I’ll give you some pie.”

“DEAL!” Roman raced upstairs, Dee following as a much slower pace.

“Thanks Toriel." Frisk pulled a face before hugging Toriel and following them to their room.

 

\-----

 

They set about working on their homework… for about five minutes. It soon degraded to trying to work on math and getting distracted by Roman explaining how he would beat up the bullies who were picking on Logan. Dee was annoyed- this was basically the first time he had heard of them because he hadn’t been there for the whole ‘Virgil punching Richie’ incident.

“How long has this been going on?” His eyes looked annoyed behind his mask, and his mouth had tightened.

“Uh- on and off for about six months or so? It really got bad around the time when we first found out we had magic- Virgil ended up punching the leader guy in the nose.”

“WHAT?!” His fists clenched and your alarm clock flew across the room. Dee snapped out of it as he heard the plastic hit the wall. “Sorry about that. I can fix it-“

Frisk waved him off. “It’s fine. I usually use my phone anyway. But yeah, Logan’s been getting bullied.”

“Has he done anything to try to get them to stop? Fight back? He has magic!”

“You know Logan, Dee. He wouldn’t stoop that low.”

Dee took off his hat to rake back his hair. “Fine. Fine. Has he told a teacher? That seems like the most logical thing to do.”

Roman shook his head as you sighed. “Of course not.”

“He’s so stubborn! He must have gotten that from Picani- he and Logan can both get like that sometimes.” He still looked rather peeved as he went over to inspect the alarm clock. It didn’t turn on. “Dang. Do you want me to fix it? It shouldn’t take that long-“

“Eh, just toss it. I’ll tell her it fell and broke. Not wrong. I really did never use it.”

He shrugged and put it carefully into the trash can. Then he crossed the room back to his binder.

“Okay but really, I do have a bunch of homework. You two can talk if you want but I have to finish this spanish homework.”

“El príncipe es estúpido.”  Roman muttered, slightly annoyed. Dee didn’t even blink.

“Well if you say so.” Roman muffled a scream of frustration in a throw pillow as Frisk slowly spun in their office chair.

“I think he was looking for something more affirming.”

Dee flashed them a grin behind his mask. “Oh, I know. El príncipe es bastante inteligente en realidad y solo quería molestarlo.” _The prince is rather smart actually and I just wanted to annoy him._ Huh.

Dee went back to his homework and they went back to theirs, Roman looking annoyed as that was the only bit of spanish he knew other than colourful romantic mutterings.

Frisk texted him the translation. He looked up, surprised. “Oh, thank you.”

Dee shrugged. “No hay problema. te quiero. No traduzca el último bit por favor Frisk.” _No problem. I love you. Do not translate the last bit please Frisk._ Well okay then.

 

**Frisk: He says that it’s no problem. He’s happy to do it.**

**Romano: Ok thx**

 

Roman really should learn some spanish.

 

 

\--------

 

Undyne and Alphys were trying out a few of Alphys’s battle-bots.

Trying out was probably the wrong word….

“HELL YEAH! CUT HIS LIMB OFF!”

“Undyne, it’s just a field test.”

“YEAH! THIS WILL TEST HOW EASY IT IS TO CUT HIS LIMB OFF!” A sawblade whirred, and the sharp sound of metal-on-metal rang through the air.

Alphys hit the emergency-kill switch and they both died, one with an arm being torn into by one with saw-blades for hands. She probably should have seen this coming.

“AW COME ON ALPH! LET’S BATTLE! THESE ONES ARE TINY! LET'S ROUGH THEM UP A LITTLE!” Alphys sighed, pressing the button again.

“Fine.” Undyne roared with laughter as the arm finally came off.

“YEAH! THAT’S WHAT’S UP! JERRY FOR THE WIN!” She paused. “Hey, why’d you name him Jerry?”

“Because I knew mine would crush him.” She spun her wii controller and fire exploded out of the arm, melting the metal blade until it twisted and deformed. The clawed hand that was actually a massive pair of metal-cutters chopped off the other arm and the robot shuddered before becoming unresponsive.

“AW COME ON!” She slumped to the ground and they both began to laugh.

“Yes! Vastator to Victory!”

“You literally named him Destroyer in Latin? This is why I love you.”

Alphys snuggled into her side. “A-Aww I know.”

Undyne pushed her off of her and rummaged around in her pockets. “Okay, I know this might not be the best time but hey, what’s cooler than being by metal carnage and waste, am I right?” She pulled a small box out of her pocket and kneeled. “Alphy, will you marry me?”

Alphys’s head spun. Then everything became clear. “Y-yes. Ohmygosh yes! Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!” She hugged Undyne, almost toppling her over. She paused as Undyne slipped the thin white and gold band onto her claw. “I c-can’t believe I stuttered in my marriage proposal.”

Undyne was smiling happily as she kissed her beloved on the top of her forehead. “Aww, but it suits you. My stuttering nerd dinosaur.” Alphys’s face grew red and she stamped her feet in embarrassment.

“U-Undyne…”

Undyne laughed and picked her up bridal style. “Let’s go tell the others.”

“W-what, n-now?!”

“Good of a time as any!” And Undyne started running, leaving the dilapidated robots behind them.

“O-okay- I-I’ll get the scraps l-later I guess…” And she hung onto her love’s neck for dear life.

 

\--------

 

They were still eating pie when the door slammed open. It had stopped raining as soon as it had come. Undyne and Alphys walked into the room.

“GUESS WHAT NERDS!” They waited for an explanation. Alphys raised one hand and smiled sheepishly, the ring glinting in the light. There was a moment of silence, then:

“Ohmygosh congrats!” Roman rattled off questions. “What kind of wedding will you have? What-“

“Do you mind if I text the others?”

“HECK YEAH!” Dee started texting rapidly. Patton soon teleported in.

“Ohmygoshohmygoghohmygosh I’m so happy for you!!!!!!!” He buried them in a hug.

Toriel set out plates of pie as they told the tale of how Undyne proposed.

“Seriously? Wow Undyne, I had no idea you had such flair.~” Dee punctuated it with a wink.

“T-That’s my Undyne.” Frisk snapped a picture of them being adorable, the ring clearly visible.

Dee went back to texting. “Picani says congrats. Anti did some hacking and Tony says congrats even if he has no idea who you are, Celine says something about young love and Damien sends his best, Anti… I have no freaking clue he ends up texting in zalgo. I’m going to assume either congratulations or great sensations.-“

“Tony? Stark?” Patton looked confused. “How’d you get his number?”

“As I said, Anti did some hacking. I sent him a gift, remember? Apparently that gets me something in his book. He says that somebody named Peter wants to go to the wedding. I don’t really know how that would work- Remy sends rainbow emojis and glitter, Logan said something ominous about the marriage industry, Thomas sends hearts and rainbows, and about five hundred others send their congratulations.”

Undyne just had her jaw dropped. “How do you know that many people?! I don’t know that many people!” Dee shrugged.

“I know how people work. Oh, and Sans says that he, Papyrus and Mettaton are coming by to say congrats tomorrow- Papyton is out camping with the SOULS and Sans is working with Gaster, who also says congrats.”

“Oh. AWESOME! I can do a celebration suplex! WHO WANTS ONE?!” Patton shrugged and nodded before Dee could stop him.

“Uh, Patton-“ But it was too late. Undyne picked him up and suplexed him, Dee only managing to get a bicycle helmet on him at the last second. Patton somehow managed to stand, grinning.

“How the heck are you not unconscious right now! ¿Qué pasaría si te hubieras lastimado idiota?” _What would happen if you hurt yourself idiot?!_ Dee was worried, snapping his fingers to make the helmet disappear and looking at Patton in worry.

Patton frowned. “Don’t be rude _friendo_. I know what idiota means.” He disappeared. Dee dragged a hand across his face.

“Ughh… that wasn’t what I meant. I’m going to have to go apologize- congrats on the engagement though you two.” He opened the nearest window and jumped out to run off. They just stood there in silence.

“Did Deceit just call Patton an idiot?” Toriel looked worried. Frisk shook their head and waved their hand in a so-so motion.

“Yes, but he was worried. He said ‘What would happen if you hurt yourself idiot?!’ Patton doesn’t know much spanish, so he only knows that he called him an idiot. I’d better go and see-“

They grabbed their hat and ran out of the door at Toriel’s nod, running after Dee and towards the Sanders house.

 

\----------

 

Picani didn’t have clients today so he was just relaxing at home. He heard a door slam upstairs. Oh, Patton must be upset. Should he go and try to calm him down?

Dee burst through the door panting. “Is Patton here?” Picani pointed upstairs with a raised eyebrow.

“Problem?”

Dee climbed the staircase. “I said something in Spanish that was mistranslated. I’ll go calm him down.” He disappeared. Picani fondly remembered the boy that had left for boarding school and then the angry teen who had come home. He was glad that he had changed for the better- even if there were a few things along the way that he didn’t know about. It was probably for the best.

Frisk burst through the door. Picani gestured beside him and Frisk sat down.

Yeah, it was probably for the best.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah. Sorry if the spanish was shit. It's not my native language and I don't really know anyone who knows spanish so..... yeah. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! I really appreciate all the support this has gotten! Feel free to comment if you have something to say! Positive criticism is great for any writer. Have a great day and Thanksgiving, for those of you whom celebrate it!


	78. Snap Crackle Pop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look. Bullying. Arm-breakage. Slurs. (Although mostly fictional and implied.)   
> You've been warned.   
> But hey, Richie finally gets his comeuppance.   
> And your chapter-ly dose of angst!

Logan was at school, putting his books into his locker. He usually didn’t need to use it but he had a few tests the next day and brought a lot of books so he could study.

He felt the presence of someone- or rather, a few someones- behind him. He turned around and gasped as a hand shoved him against his locker by his tie. They had never been violent like this with reckless abandon-

The weight on his chest promptly vanished as the teen holding him to the locker was tossed across the hallway, smacking into the nearest wall and sliding to the ground. Another one of the kids- his name was something like Brandon- swung at the figure, who promptly ducked, the mask and the hat masking his features.

“Lay your hands off of him or it will be the last thing you ever do!” The one who remained standing ran.

The figure dropped his hands, looking back at Logan with concern. “You okay?”

Logan slowly got up, nodding and straightening his tie. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do that-“

“Yes I did! Why didn’t you tell me they were bullying you?”

He bristled. “It wasn’t any of your concern-“

-WHAM-

The bully threatening to sneak up on them was blasted back into the lockers.

“Speaking of which, how on earth do you do that? You manifest illusions, not telekinetic energy.” As far as he knew of anyway…

Dee shrugged and turned towards the bullies, both of which were getting slowly to their feet.

“I would apologize for the pain except that I know that you have been doing this for a rather long time without repercussions. And as someone who has been in his shoes, I highly suggest you knock it off before I get much angrier.” The kid other than Richie ran. Richie puffed out his chest.

“Oh? And what are ya gonna do about it freak? Your stupid magic doesn’t keep you from getting punched in the face.”

He swung, and Dee pushed Logan aside, dodging enough that it didn’t hit him in the torso but rather the arm. Dee winced and moved it, so it was tighter against his side, still wearing his mask.

“Go. Get a teacher. I’ll try to not hurt him too badly.” Logan hesitated, but he felt a slight push that knocked him back a step. _“Go.”_

He ran. Dee turned towards Richie, swallowing and securing his arm to his side with a scarf. He cocked his head. “You know Richie, I don’t think Logan thinks you’re a bad person.”

He dodged a fist and turned around so his back wasn’t against the wall.

“But you’re not dealing with him. You’re dealing with me. And I think you’ve broken my arm. So that means I could easily blast you through the nearest wall, knocking you out and possibly causing a lot of head damage.”

“SHUT UP! YOU’RE NOT IN A PLACE TO MAKE DEMANDS YOU----!”

Dee stormed up, eyes blazing and a finger on Richie’s chest. “Look here idiot, there are a few things I should tell you right now. Utter that word once more to me and you will have not only a concussion but a broken arm. Tell that to someone else and you will have a broken leg. Are we clear?” He pumped a bit of extra hypnotism in there just to make sure it worked.

Richie’s eyes widened and he backed down, nodding. Dee reined himself in, nodding and taking a step back. “Good. Now please wait here until Logan comes back with the Principal. That is _not_ a request.”

They just stood there on opposite sides of the hall, Dee glaring at Richie and Richie looking like he was almost scared. The door burst open and Principal Akron jogged in, Logan behind him. They came closer to the two of them. Richie turned to run, pushing Dee into Mr. Akron and Logan-

And he fell to the ground, Dee holding two yellow cables with a murderous expression on his face. He turned to the others, the chains disappearing quickly and his normal facial expression returning around the mask that covered half of his face. “Sorry about that.”

Logan ran to the bay on the ground, checking his pulse. “What did you do to him?”

Dee waved his hand. “Just made him fall asleep. I said I wouldn’t hurt him too badly. I think he might have a few psychological scars however.”

Akron turned towards him. “What exactly happened? What are those yellow cables?”

Dee was inspecting his arm. “Well, I was keeping an eye on Logan-“

“You were what?! I can handle myself-“

“They could have seriously injured you. Anyway, three people went up to Logan. Richie grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the locker. I knocked him away and one ran. Logan left to go get you. The other went to punch me and I fought back just enough to knock him into the lockers. He ran. Then he- Richie- and I were fighting the rest of the time, and I believe he injured my arm rather badly.”

“Do you need something from the nurse?” The other two looked worried.

“No, no. I’ll just get a nice cream or something until I can have someone look at it more closely. I managed to convince him to back off, and you two came in.”

“And the cables?” Dee and Logan exchanged a look. Dee really didn't want him here to see this...

“It might just be better to show you…” Logan looked apprehensive, raising his eyebrows towards his cousin, who shrugged and waved a hand at him and towards the entrance. Logan nodded and left.

“Don’t worry- it shouldn’t feel painful or anything. It’s just like you’re looking at the world through water- or so I’ve been told.”

“But what are you going to do? You keep dodging the question.”

“Limited Mind Control.” He said bluntly and casually.

“Pardon?” Akron took a few steps back.

“It’s basically magical hypnotism. You should remain awake and aware unless I say otherwise. I won’t. Say otherwise that is.”

“And do many people have this ability? Monsters and the like?”

“Nope, just me. Do you mind looking at me? Normally it works faster if you look at me.”

“Oh, yes, of course.” He did. Dee’s eye flashed and he made a twisting motion with his uninjured arm.

“And there we go. Just remain neutral Mr. Akron. No reason to do anything. Just keep in mind that I could do what I wished- well, within reason. You may feel a faint tiredness-“ The light died from his eye and Akron slumped forwards, Dee catching him and setting him gently on the ground. “Mr. Akron?”

“Wha- That was strange. You were right- like looking through water.”

Dee helped him up, motioning to the softly snoring teen. “I basically did a version of that- but made him fall asleep as he tried to run. I’m not that much of a fan of it- it’s rather invasive. It was one of the first things I found out about- well, other than the personal illusions.”

“Personal illusions?” Akron was rather curious about what this student could do. Dee adjusted his mask.

“Maybe another time. We have to deal with him, don’t we?”

Akron looked at the child. “Not that I’m asking-“

“But you are.” Dee sighed. “Where do you want him?”

“Um- maybe over by the office? In mine, preferably.”

Dee rolled his head, closing his eyes for a second as he took his mask off and placed it into his pocket. “Okay.” His face seemed different- closed off. His voice was more monotone. “Wake up and obey.” He snapped his fingers. Richie lumbered to his feet, eyes still glassy and distant. “Follow.” He walked off towards the offices, eye glowing faintly. Akron followed. Dee went in past the offices, hat hiding most of his face in shadow except his eye. He pointed to a chair sitting right inside the office. “Sit and sleep. Become aware when awoken.” He nodded towards Akron and slipped out before the principal could issue out a thanks.

What had just happened?

 

\----------

 

Dee slipped the mask back onto his face as soon as he got outside. He should have expected this- he really should have expected that. People would want to exploit him as soon as they knew how much trouble he could save them- it was a given. It was just insulting that he hadn’t thought of it first.

Was this what the world was like?

No, the real world wasn’t like boarding school. It wasn’t. That would be ridiculous.

But was it? Were there always people hiding just out of sight waiting to pounce? People that would do anything to make you think you were their friend so they could use you? People who tried to hide from these kinds of people but couldn’t?

He shook his head and dug his hands deeper into his pockets.

Life was not school. Life was just a game to other people, but that didn’t mean he had to be a pawn.

But he was getting off of track. He went around his house and started the hike to the meadow.

 

\---

 

Virgil was sitting in his favourite tree. He liked to sit here when he really should go outside but didn’t want to feel too exposed- it was relaxing and grounding to be surrounded by the rough sensation of bark.

He heard the crunch of footsteps against grass and looked up to see Dee walking over. Why was he here? He wasn’t even aware his cousin remembered the field. Dee nodded towards him and went to go sit on the crest of a nearby slope, laying back and looking at the clouds. Virgil sat up, his legs dangling off the branch.

“What’s up Doc?” No answer but a sigh. “Dee?”

“People.” No need to say more. He got the feeling too well.

“What did they do now? Offend you, pushed you around, or not care about you?” He jumped to the ground, walking over to Dee and sitting next to him, accidentally jostling his right arm. There was a yelp from next to him.

“Are you okay? Did I step on you?” He picked up the arm and rolled up the sleeve, ignoring the cry from the boy next to him. “Dee, what the hell happened to your arm? I’ll punch them, I swear-!”

“No- you’ve already punched him.”

“That bastard broke your arm?! I’m gonna kill him-“

“Not needed. He’s already in trouble with the school.”

“And?! That’s nothing!”

“And I might have hypnotized him.”

“Okay…?”

“And smashed him into a set of lockers twice.”

Virgil raised his brows. “Dang. What kind of fight did you have?” He scrounged around in his pocket for a Monster granola bar.

“Oh, you know. Saw he was picking on Logan-“

“That jerk! He didn’t learn his lesson after I punched him in the face?” He handed Dee a slightly-squashed chocolate bar, which he began to eat as Virgil looked up how to wrap an arm properly.

“Apparently not. Well, I moved him away from Logan-“

“What had he done?”

Dee swallowed and crumpled up the wrapper. “He had Logan pinned against the lockers. I got him away and one of the others- there were three- ran. I fought off the other one until he ran, then I managed to get Richie under hypnosis but not before he broke my arm.”

“Okay… can you get me some medical tape or gauze or something?” Dee waved his hand and a roll of bandages appeared. “Perfect, thanks. Hold on-“ He wrapped the arm then fashioned the extra into a sling of sorts.

“Thanks.”

Virgil shrugged, setting his phone to the side. “No problem. You might want to go get that checked out though. Definitely eat some more monster food.”

“Fine. Do you wanna come?”

Virgil shuddered. “Hospitals? I spent two months in one. I’m good, thanks.”

Dee nodded his head. “True, true. Should I call Picani and tell him where I am? I can have someone teleport me over-“

|Did I hear the word teleport?| Dark eyed the sling. |Oh. How’d that happen?|

“School fight.” Dark didn’t ask for more details.

|So you want me to take you to the hospital.|

“If you wouldn’t mind.” Dark shrugged and extended an arm.

|Grab on. I’m not staying, but I’ll get you there. You have someone to take you back, correct?| Aww, Celine was worried.

“Yep. I’ll text Sans for you Dee. Thanks Dark.”

Dark nodded and they disappeared in a flash of red and blue.

 

\------

 

Dee’s waiting for Sans with a green cast on his arm. He wasn’t sure how long it would take to heal with the addition of monster food, but he’d come back in a few weeks to check the progress.

He was surprised nobody gave him too much trouble with the cast. Just some basic hospital junk and he left with a cast. He pulled out his phone and looked at the texts.

 

**Picani: Dee? I heard about your arm- are you okay?**

**Picani: Dee?**

**Picani: You’re probably busy getting the cast, but I want to talk about this when we get home.**

**Picani: Dee? You there?**

 

He was probably getting worried, if the texts were any indication.

 

**Dee-spacito: Hey! I’m fine, just got the cast on.**

 

He saw a skeletal figure walk towards him.

 

**Dee-spacito: Hold on- my ride’s here. See you in a few minutes.**

 

He stood up as Sans walked over. “heya kid. heard you needed a ride?”

Dee smiled. “Thanks Sans.”

Blue static filled his vision and he went home.

 

\---------

 

They sat around the table eating pizza. After everyone had been told the story, although Logan had seemed rather embarrassed by the whole thing, they talked a lot about stuff like responsibility and sticking up for each other and stuff. All rather boring and that they already knew, but they weren’t complaining. There was pizza.

“-and I know that you’ll do better in the future.” Picani smiled. “Anyway, now that that my whole speal is over, do you guys want to watch a cartoon?”

“YES!” Patton ran over and grabbed the remote, turning in on to Steven universe. Roman claimed half of the couch, and Virgil grabbed a bunch of blankets before going over and sitting in roman until he moved enough so he could sit down. Dee grabbed a pillow and propped up his arm on it, curling up on an armrest. Patton sat on the floor in front of the couch and rested the remote on Roman’s feet, and Logan sat on the couch normally, leaving room for Picani to squeeze in once he got another piece of pizza and threw in some popcorn. Remy draped himself over Roman’s legs. Thomas lay himself out on the rug, and Patton played with his hair.

They settled down to watch Season 1 again- they all thought it was the best. Well, maybe not the best, but it certainly had a great storyline.

The microwave beeped, and Picani went up to go get it, careful not to jostle Dee. “While I’m up, do you need any pain meds?”

He shook his head. “I’ll be fine with monster food. I should take one before bed, so maybe the next time you’re up?”

He received a thumbs-up and a smile before they settled back to watch cartoons.

They eventually fell asleep to the wonderful soundtrack.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh... have to say, it's entertaining thinking up different chat names for Dee. 
> 
> Anyway.... thank you for reading! I really appreciate all the support! If you have any ideas for situations, or just want to rant about something, or have any questions or positive criticism, feel free to comment! 11 more chapters to go! They'll be a doozy... think of this as... the calm before the storm. Have a lovely day!


	79. DETAINED!!!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> * Did you think you were above consequences?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! Studying for finals is kicking my butt this semester...

Dee cracked open his eyes to the sound of Logan’s phone going off with his morning alarm. Ugh... what? Why was he down here? Oh, right. Cartoons. He tried to stretch both arms- and felt a jolt of pain that fully woke him up. Oh, right. Broken arm. He got up to go get some Advil while the alarm slowly woke the others up. He hoped it would heal soon.

“Morning.” He said as Remy slowly moved into the room. He grabbed a mug with his good arm and moved it down for his brother. “How’d you sleep?”

“It’s too early…” Remy started making coffee. He seemed to wake up a bit at the smell of the beans. “Didn’t sleep too badly though- you?”

“Not bad. Arm didn’t bother me too much. Want some cereal?”

“I’ll take a granola bar if you’re over there. The coffee’s magic, so it kinda fills you up like all monster food.”

“In that case I’ll take a mug myself.” Remy reached over and grabbed him one while he rummaged around in the pantry for some granola bars. He tossed one over, it landing on the counter next to the coffee machine and almost sliding into the sink.

“Nice throw Mufasa.”

Dee snorted as he moved over to the steaming cup of coffee sitting on the table for him. “Want some sugar?”

“Already ahead of you.” Remy and Dee watched as the massive packet of sugar slowly emptied itself into his mug. Remy replaced it on the counter.

“How the heck do you drink it like that?” He said as he took a tentative sip. Yep, too hot.

“Unlike some people, I don’t prefer it to be hades incarnate.” Dee rolled his eyes.

“It’s not hades incarnate, it just tastes better. Monster coffee is naturally sweetened a little bit anyway because magic tastes like sugar.”

“So that’s why 80% of monster food is pastries. Good to know. That explains why she had trouble with the coffee though. The first five were sickeningly sweet, even for me. Tasted like a cup of straight honey.”

“Oh, like you can drink something straight.” Remy laughed as he stirred his coffee and sipped it, apparently not minding the heat.

“Yeah hon. Sure.” Dee smiled and went back to his coffee, now cooled down enough to be drinkable.

Logan came into the room, stealing a sip of Remy’s coffee before sighing and going to grab some bread to stick into the toaster.

“Good morning to you too.”

Patton bounced in, going straight to the fridge or some cold pizza. “Good morning!~” he could practically hear the glitter in his voice.

“Well I guess someone is a morning person today.” Virgil said as he shuffled in, bypassing the kitchen and going straight to the dining table to flop on it until his head rested on the wooden surface.

“And I see someone is not.” Thomas said as he caught the granola bar tossed his way. “Thanks.”

“If there’s a morning where Virgil is a morning person for no reason, make sure it’s actually him.” Dee joked. There was an awkward silence. Dee finished off his granola bar and prepared another mug of coffee as Picani walked in. Remy slid over his coffee and snagged the one Dee had just made.

“I was going to go give this to him.” He said, frowning slightly. Remy smirked and pushed his sunglasses back up his face.

“Sorry hon.” Except for the fact that he definitely wasn’t.

Picani just drank his coffee. Eventually he woke up enough to eat breakfast. Picani in the morning made Virgil look like a morning person.

Logan’s phone went off. “We should go off to school.”

They put together their stuff and left Picani to drink his coffee, stopping by the Dreemurr house on the way to get Frisk and Chara.

“Hey hon.”

“Yo.” They piled out onto the driveway and began the walk.

“Dude, what the heck happened to your arm?!”

“Broke it.”

Chara rolled their eyes. “Well duh, I meant how.”

“Some guy punched it in the wrong spot.”

“Who?”

“Does it matter?”

“Well YEAH! I have to find out who I have to punch in the face!”

“Chara! No punching people in the face!” Frisk reprimanded.

“I already punched him in the face so that would be rather redundant.” Virgil turned around and walked backwards. Chara gasped.

“What! Richie?! DANG!”

“Chara!”

“Oh come on Frisk- the kid is a brat! What did you do to him, huh?”

“… might have slammed him into the lockers and mind controlled him…” He muttered, almost too soft to hear. They all looked surprised- only Logan and Virgil had known the full extent of the fight.

“What?!” Patton, Thomas, Frisk, and Roman looked shocked. Remy and Chara just seemed impressed.

“Really? How’d he react? Did he cry?”

“Chara!” Frisk looked annoyed. Dee knew it was just better to get the questions over with before school or they’d have come up with fifteen more by lunch.

“No. He just fell asleep. Now if you won’t mind, I think you guys have a test today, don’t you?”

Virgil’s eyes widened. “Oh frick! It’s history, right?” Logan, Frisk and Chara nodded. Logan pulled out his phone to read some pictures he took of his notes as they walked.

Woo. Questions averted. Patton walked up closer, lowering his voice as the others freaked out, Thomas and Remy watching with amusement.

“You okay?”

Dee nodded and kept walking, adjusting the strap of his bag.

“You know, it could have been worse.” Dee looked at him quizzically. Patton smiled. “You could have broken your left arm.”

Dee managed a smile and reached over to ruffle his cousin’s hair. “Thanks Pat.”

“No problem kiddo.”

They walked the rest of the way to school in a comfortable silence while their friends continued to panic about their history test. Dee took pity on them after about five minutes as he was thinking about his spanish class.

“Guys, relax. You have lunch to study. You’re lucky you don’t have a Spanish test.”

Frisk and Chara made a noise of recognition. “OH! So THAT’S why you know Spanish.”

Virgil nudged Logan. “Yep. And this goof over here only knows one phrase.” Logan turned red.

“Hey! Sure, I might not know anything much-“

“Speaking of which, why do you know that phrase?” Roman genuinely looked confused. Logan cleared his throat.

“Well, it was during a… let’s call it a rocky patch shall we?”

“Yes. Let us all be glad that you two never fight or we’d be finding items encased in jello for weeks.”

“Eh, your loss. I love jello.”

Logan scoffed. “How you eat that stuff astounds me.”

“Says the man who eats jam straight from the jar with a spoon.”

Logan looked offended. “Excuse me? It’s a jelly you-“ He broke off as the others started laughing and they entered campus, everyone still focused on the conversation. He walked straight into someone, not noticing where he was going.

“Sorry-“ He said fighting back a wince as his arm jostled. He was roughly grabbed by the collar of his jacket and dragged a few feet by a man in blue. School security? But why were Jericho and Apollo-?

“Dee!” Logan and Patton started to hurry forwards to reach him but they were kept back by the other security officer, who was usually much more laid-back than this. Dee managed to fight out of the grip and stand still enough to adjust his jacket and sling.

“Where are you taking me?” Even he was surprised by the commanding authority in his voice, compelling the man to answer.

“To the office to decide what’s to be done with you.” He turned away and grabbed his injured shoulder, dragging him away. His bag fell to the ground as he twisted to try to relieve the pain.

“STOP! HE’S INJURED IN THAT ARM!” Remy managed to dodge around the other guard and get close enough to grab the officer’s hand to force it away.

“REMY STOP!” Virgil reached out over the arm holding him back.

Any other students nearby were coming closer as their voices rang out over the blacktop. Dee looked back at the others, trying to make his voice as calming as possible for poor Virgil who looked like he was going to flip out at any moment.

“I’ll be fine!~ Go to class- Remy if you could tell my Spanish professor I might not be there that would be great.” He got Remy’s hand off Apollo’s hand with a slight shove, prying off the guard’s arm at the same time and walking over towards the office. “Stop this and go to class. I’ll text you about what happens if it ends after lunch, okay?”

He was ushered into the office before he saw their reaction, Jericho still holding them back and the doors closing with a foreboding bang.

 

\-------

 

Virgil saw the doors close and knew something bad was happening. Something bad was always going to happen- what if Dee got suspended, or even expelled? What if he was hurt? He noticed the people with their cell phones out. N **o…** too much attention! His vision tunneled, and he felt his feet slapping against pavement as he ran away from the sound and the lights and the **people** -

He heard voices calling for him, but he didn’t feel the usual sense of familiarity at hearing his name- They just wanted to embarrass him or ridicule him-

His whirring mind focused on the rhythmic beats of his feet against the pavement and the nearing shadows of the smaller buildings all the way across campus. He slowed finally as his chest and legs ached from lack of oxygen. He tried to suck in air as he walked towards the back of the building to hide away in peace. Drat. He’d left his backpack. What if someone stole it? What if-

No, that was silly. Frisk, Logan, and Chara were in his first class, so they’d bring it with them. He collapsed into a ball with his back against the building, trying to steady both his breathing and his heart. He shakily pulled out his earbuds. Anything to quiet his thoughts… and besides, the rhythm of music was calming. He randomly picked a song, the familiar beats calming him quickly.

Well, at least he was close to his math class. Did that mean that somebody would find him though? He tried to push that from his head and focus on the song.

Once he felt he was calm enough he pushed off the ground and checked his phone and he rounded the building. Five minutes until hell.

He noticed a large crowd of people and the signature hair of Logan. Well crap, they were already being swarmed. He dodged the people coming towards him and tried to reach the others, feeling as he was suffocating from the warm bodies around him. Finally, the crowd parted enough so he could breathe, and he slipped over towards his friends who were fighting off the crowd.

“Virgil!”

The crowd clamored, repeating his name in whispers before finally settling down to the usual crowd buzz.

“Virgil, is it true that-“

“CAN EVERYONE PLEASE STOP TALKING?! WE’D REALLY RATHER NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS UNTIL WE KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING! WE KNOW LESS THAN YOU!”

The crowd quieted and slowly dispersed once they realized he was being serious. Chara tossed him his backpack. *Thanks. You okay?*

“Peachy. Ready for hell?”

*I think we’ve just escaped it.*

“Guys! Look at Patton, and Remy!” Indeed, they were the ones getting swarmed. Patton was backing into Remy, wondering if he should just teleport the two of them out of there. Virgil marched over.

“BACK THE HECK OFF! WE KNOW JUST AS MUCH AS YOU DO AND ARE NOT WILLING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS!” Apparently, something about his voice caused them to scatter. Or it just might have been the bags under his eyes that were covered up with a ton of eyeshadow. Remy and Patton looked relieved.

*Hey, where’s Thomas?*

Virgil looked over just to catch a glimpse of him disappearing into the office. Well crap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There has been a strange lack of consequences for certain events that have transpired. I figured I'd fix that.  
> Oh, and I went back and edited out a plot hole I couldn't even think of an answer to fix. So there's that. No strange circles! I hope I got it, if there are still a few inconsistencies sorry about that. It was bugging me to not have an answer for that so I tried to fix it. Editing is not one of my talents, that's for sure. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading and have a great day! Ten more to go!


	80. Dee Would be a Great Lawyer if not for the Magic Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post this tomorrow. I really was.   
> But then I saw the amount of people who have read this. I wanted to say thank you.   
> You've helped me do something I didn't even dream of doing. I write as a hobby to deal with stress from school and other real-life things. It helps keep me sane, ya know? But I never thought it would become something like this.   
> Now, compared to a lot of other writers on Archive, 1000 people is nothing. But I have to say, you've made this my highest-read thing, well, ever.   
> So thank you. Every single one of your comments and kudos and everything means so much to me. Even if you don't do any of those things, the fact that you're yaking hte time to read this means the world to me.   
> Thanks. 
> 
> Now on to your (ir)regularly scheduled broadcast.

Thomas walked through the halls with purpose, hoping nobody noticed the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be there. He’d grabbed Dee’s bag and left his with a friend, so he could say he was his cousin if he really wanted to- they looked similar enough with the coloured hair after all. He just wouldn’t have a cast.

 

“Thomas!” He turned at the whisper of his name. Patton and Virgil were hiding behind a nearby janitor cart.

“Guys? What are you doing here? You’ll get in trouble!” Virgil scoffed.

“Well we’re not just leaving you here to get in trouble.”

“No! Leave- I can pass for any one of you and you know it. Actually-“ He had just had an idea.

Patton looked skeptical. “Thomas, whatever you have planned-“

 

\--------

 

Thomas walked the halls, trying to imitate Patton’s bouncy walk. It wasn’t as hard as he’d thought, it just took a lot of energy. He was lucky he had a pair of similar-looking reading glasses though, or he would have been bumping into things left and right with his brother’s prescription.

He hid behind a filing cabinet as an office came into earshot. Principal Akron’s.

 

~

“Dee, I’m afraid what you’ve done is a serious penalty in school rules.”

“Excuse me? Where are the rules that-“

There was the sound of shuffling papers. “Here. Rule 34- Monsters cannot use magic in any situation regarding self-defense during school hours on campus.”

Thomas knew Dee had a perfectly good trap card to use. He just hoped that-

“Well, your rules have a certain flaw Mr. Akron.” Yep, he was using it.

“Oh?” There was the sound of a chair creaking as he sat forwards. “And that is?”

Thomas could hear the buried satisfaction in his voice, a mask of cool politeness. “Two flaws actually. One, I’m not a monster.”

“True, but you were using monster magic-“

“And- sorry to interrupt your thought, but this one is more important. The fight didn’t take place in school hours. The final bell had rung. Logan was dropping off his books in his locker after his final class. According to Rule 13, which is a district-wide rule in fact-“ There was the sound of papers again. “-here, school hours end at the last bell, after which is a fifteen minute interval to get to our lockers before the buses come as the scheduled time. School hours do not cover the time in which Logan was attacked.”

“True, but-“

“I would really rather you stop arguing before I say something you would rather have me glance over. Because according to Rule 58-“ The book was slid over to the Principal. “The school is responsible for anything that happens, regarding injury or large penalties to any other established rules that end up taking legal action, fifteen minutes before and after school hours. I will gladly accept some form of punishment for the use of monster magic if you want to say that I incapacitated a student with said magic within that time period, but there is no plausible right for me to have to take action on the fact that I used magic after school hours in a strictly self-defense format. Not to mention that I’m sure you would want to sweep the fact that I used said magic to do what your staff couldn’t because of certain gaps in the patrols you put in place- get an attacker under control and deliver him to the proper areas for treatment and disciplinary action.”

There was a heavy silence in the office for what felt like years. Then a sigh. “Either way I’m going to get in the hot seat.”

“True, but if I may suggest a few other things?” Dee slid a piece of paper over. “Hire Apollo and Jericho’s cousin Nate- he’s a former police officer. Have him fill in the gaps in your patrol. And-“ There was the ringing of a phone.

“Hello, this is Principal Akron of Mountainview School. How may I help you?” There were a few seconds of silence. “Okay, thanks.” He set down the phone on the receiver and sighed. “You’re off the hook. You can go. They’ve detained Richie for a few days to scare some sense into him.”

There were a few seconds of silence then: “Thank you. My apologies for trapping you into a corner without necessity.” Without necessity? Thomas thought that had been perfectly reasonable. A bit harsh, but reasonable.

“It’s fine. Have a good day Dee.”

“You too sir.”

And Dee left the building. Thomas popped up and walked beside him.

“Heard all of that did you Thomas?” Dee sounded resigned.

“Yes.” There were a few seconds then: “It was amazing to hear though.”

“Unfortunately for me it was amazing to do.” He slipped his mask onto his face. “They really need to redo some of those rules. Just because this doesn’t cover my whole face I can wear it without any consequences, ironically on any day but Halloween.”

“Huh.” They kept walking, and Thomas realized he still had Dee’s bag. “Want this back?” He said, holding up the satchel.

Dee shrugged. “Sure.” He picked it up and somehow managed to sling it over his head with one arm. It was a heavy bag too.

“How do you make that look so easy?!” Dee quirked a slight smile.

“If I can cast solid illusions, why can’t I try to cast ones that do the opposite?” That hurt his brain. So he basically just made it weightless?

“Please don’t say something like that ever again. That made my head threaten to jump out a window.” Dee chuckled, his hair blowing over his face and he brushed it back with one hand.

“Aww, thanks. I try.”

He was about to walk away when he stopped. “Hey, why didn’t you think I was Patton? We look almost exactly alike.”

“Patton has a different kind of smile.” And with that he left, leaving Thomas confused as he went to grab his bag from Joan.

“Hey Joan?”

“Yep? You look like your head just blew up like the Hindenburg.”

“It did. Say, how did you know I wasn’t Patton?”

“Patton just came flying by on an office chair screaming about three minutes ago in your jacket. That, and Patton would never come by and call me Joan. He’d call me something funny, maybe saying a dad-joke or two. He’s also about half an inch taller than you.”

Thomas just shook his head and smiled as he walked into class. Time to get on with the day.

 

\----------

 

They all were sitting together for lunch. People were keeping their distance- apparently someone managed to piss Roman off in PE, and word had gotten around that he knew how to use a sword.

They were trying to study for their history exam when someone sat down next to them. Talyn. “Hey guys.”

“Hey Talyn.”

Joan sat on the other side. “Heya.”

“Hey Joan.” 

There was a small silence. “Okay bye.” They both left at the same time.

“Okay that was strange.”

Dee shrugged, trying to itch the inside of his cast. “not really. They’ve done that kind of thing before.”

“Fair enough. Want a ruler or something to stick in there?” He shook his head.

“Won’t fit. Here-“ He concentrated, and the cast grew less substantial. He slid his hand straight through it and started itching. “You guys have no idea how good this feels.”

“Dee, what if you mess up something?!”

“Nothing a little monster food won’t fix. I need to scratch this itch.”

“Can’t you just let it itch? It will go away soon enough.” He shook his head, still itching.

“Monster food quickens the healing process and replaces lost tissue. However, that process is really freaking itchy, and on top of the already itchy cast that’s a nightmare.” Oh. He finally let his cast go back to normal. “That’s a bit better. What were we talking about?”

“They’re studying for their History Exam.”

“Ah. I’d better study for my Spanish test.”

Frisk looked up. “Want some help? I’ve learned all I can here.”

Dee shrugged. “Sure, why not. You seem to know a lot of Spanish.”

“I have to know a lot of languages as an ambassador. What’cha learning?” They scooted over. He showed them and they nodded. “Yep. Well here’s what you need to remember….”

They studied for the rest of lunch, Remy and Thomas just looking on with amusement.

“Heh. I remember my test days.” He sipped his cafeteria coffee. He’d won over the canteen people to let him buy coffee ages ago.

“Wait, why don’t you have a test? Don’t you guys have basically the same classes?”

“Nah. Everything except for the fact that I have Psychology with Virgil.”

“Really? Huh. Weird you’d be in the same class.”

“Nah- that class has people from all four years- it’s pretty cool if you can keep up.”

“Then why do you drink coffee? You know that has some serious side effects on the-“ Remy stopped him by putting a finger to his mouth.

“Let me live my lies in peace Thomas.”

“But-“

“Shhhh….”

Logan looked up. “Coffee in moderation is actually good for you.”

“Hon, since when do I do anything in moderation?”

“Fair point.” He went back to his History.

Virgil checked his watch and stretched. “How have you guys fared with hell so far?”

“People have been remarkably nonchalant about it so far.” Logan.

“Hasn’t bothered me much.” Remy.

“I almost took a guy’s face off with a sword.” Roman.

“Everyone else seems pretty okay, so I’m fine! Thanks for asking kiddo!” Patton.

“I got out before class, which was nice.” Dee.

Thomas shrugged and said nothing.

“And I’ve been worse. Overall not that bad of a day, right?”

“Well, other than the whole threat of Dee being expelled or arrested, sure.”

“Thomas, not helping.”

“What? It’s true!-“

“The situation was incredible complicated and there were many factors at play-“

“-well sure, go that route if you want to but it’s not going to really be any help-“

“-you guys always do this-“

Dee rolled his eyes and twisted his hand, shutting everybody up. “Guys, you’re making a scene. Roman, he has the right to say it, but Thomas, it might not really be the right time. Now make up before the bell rings or I’m going to be really annoyed later if you two start arguing.”

They still had their hands pressed against their mouths but nodded. Dee snapped his fingers. “Good.”

“You guys arguing really does get annoying. Remember last time? I still find glitter in the couch cushions.” Virgil smirked.

“You think that’s bad? I sometimes find glitter in my cereal.”

“It took five hours for my sunglasses to defrost last time I argued with you Virge, I don’t think you have any stones to throw.”

“Ehhh…. I think I win. I shipped a massive box of glitter.”

“We know!”

“This isn’t what I’d call making up, but whatever. I’m going to class early. See you guys later. Good luck on your exam, and thanks for the help.” Dee stood up and left.

There were a few seconds of silence. “Maybe the whole thing hit him harder than we thought?” Virgil was biting his nails.

“Maybe.”

 

\----------

 

Dee walked into the bathroom and went straight into a stall, rolling up his sleeve. The scales had spread to his upper arm- they were a weird brownish-green colour- mostly tan like his skin but starting to shade green. Summer was going to be the worst… if he hadn’t turned into a crazy snake by then.

He really had to check with Gaster to see what he thought. It had spread so rapidly in the last month- at this rate who knew what he’d be dealing with by the end of the school year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are afoot.   
> But just to say again, thanks.   
> I hope you all have a great day.


	81. Not Actually Anti's Fault This Time. I Know, I'm Surprised Too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By Fall Out Boy.

The recording process for a video was really complicated. First Anti thought of a concept- not really needing sleep really did help with generating ideas, who knew? Then he figured out who should/could be in the script. If certain people were going to cause chaos and make recording difficult, he had to minimize the time they were on screen or cut them out of the episode entirely. He had to see whether he had to call up any people for roles, and decide how much editing he’d do or if he’d just ask Robin to do the finishing details in exchange for doing one of Jack’s.

Then he had to spend days recording, making sure that the whole thing was believable as good editing and that nobody got into shots. Then he did the first run-through of putting scenes together, making sure they didn’t have to re-shoot. After a lot of work… they eventually would plan with Jack for the right time to post it.

Then the community would go nuts with love and anticipation for the next. It was exhausting… but hey, he got screen time and that made him less likely to murder people, so that was good. Currently they were recording a video based on Chase- and the Jims had convinced him to take a shot, unaware of his… love… of alcohol. So Marvin was running around hiding all of the liquor and Anti was trying to calm Chase down. Why did he get all of the hard work?

“Heheh- hey Anti, Anti- lookie- I’m making a vlog.” He turned round as he noticed that he was holding up a phone for a camera.

“̴O̶b̵v̴i̴o̷u̷s̶l̸y̶.̴ ̵W̶h̷y̵ ̷d̷o̸n̸’̸t̶ ̶y̵o̷u̵ ̴p̷u̸t̴ ̸d̴o̴w̴n̶ ̵t̸h̶e̵ ̶c̷a̴m̸e̸r̵a̸ ̸a̸n̴d̷ ̴h̵e̸l̴p̷ ̶m̸e̸ ̶s̵e̴t̴ ̸u̴p̵ ̷t̵h̶e̶ ̸t̷r̵i̴c̸k̷s̷h̴o̷t̷ ̵s̸c̴e̷n̵e̷?̵”̷ That might pacify him until he sobered. And hey, some of his footage might prove useful. Schneep, who was grabbing the usual box of tea from the cupboard, looked over.

“Yes Chase- we see zat. Would you like to go watch a movie with JJ? You look like all zis work has tired you out.”

“Okaay…. Remind me to post this in the morning, alrighhht?” He wobbled over to where JJ was setting up a couch with pillows, shoving the phone into his hand.

He looked over to where the doctor was pulling a thing of cookies out of the oven. “H̴e̶y̷ ̴S̷c̶h̵n̵e̵e̷p̸,̸ ̵d̷o̵ ̵y̵o̸u̴ ̴t̸h̴i̷n̷k̶ ̵w̷e̷ ̴s̷h̵o̴u̸l̸d̴ ̸d̷o̸ ̵a̶ ̸Q̸ ̵a̸n̸d̸ ̸A̶?̶”̸ ̸

Schneep shrugged as he set the cookies on a rack to cool. “Vy don’t ve just ask the viewers? Ve can tweet it or somezing using Jack’s Tweeter.”

Hmm. He was going to suggest that it be a stream with just the two of them, but Jack didn’t know the ins and outs quite like he did, so that was out. Maybe he could do it with someone else pretending to be Jack in costume? Maybe Jackieboy Man was willing… he could plausibly dress up as Jack, right? Or he could just tell Jack about the process beforehand and he could direct questions to him…

“Anti? You zere?”

He jolted back to reality. “O̵h̵?̷ ̸Y̸e̸a̷h̴,̸ ̴t̵h̸a̵t̶’̶s̴ ̴a̷ ̷g̶r̴e̸a̵t̷ ̸i̶d̴e̵a̴.̴ ̵J̵u̷s̴t̵ ̷g̶o̴t̸ ̶l̷o̶s̵t̵ ̶i̵n̸ ̵m̶y̸ ̸h̵e̶a̷d̵ ̵f̵o̵r̵ ̶a̵ ̸s̶e̴c̷o̶n̴d̴.̴ ̷ W̴h̶a̶t̷ ̸d̸o̴ ̶y̷o̷u̸ ̷t̶h̴i̵n̶k̸ ̸a̶b̷o̴u̴t̷ ̶t̴h̶e̴ ̶t̶r̷i̵c̴k̷ ̸s̷h̷o̶t̸s̷?̶”̸ ̶He’d set up the mugs somewhat like beer pong- maybe he could have King hand Chase a teabox as a cameo? No, he didn’t want to make Mark pretend they’d done a crossover- he’d gone back to LA weeks ago.

“It looks good. Vat did Chase record? Iz it usable?” He looked down at the phone before turning it on and glitching to the unlocked position. A screen stared back at him.

**Your video was successfully uploaded.**

He froze and went to Jack’s feed. There was a new video- no thumbnail or anything, just a random keysmash. He ran over to where Marvin was using the computer to play games.

“D̷̪̿e̵̘͝l̷̪ȇ̸̯ť̸̟e̴̯͆ ̸͓͆ǐ̷͎t̸͙̀,̷̞͑ ̸̗̀d̸̪͘ě̵̠l̸͓̐e̷̻͌t̸̛͉e̷͙̊ ̸̪̈́ȋ̵̫t̵̰̉ ̷̘̀n̶̓ͅo̴̺͝w̸͇͌.̸̲͑”̷̭͝ ̸͉̿

Marvin just stared at him in confusion. “Delete what?” Anti screamed and snagged the keyboard, glitching his way straight onto YouTube. There sat the Video, already with thousands of views and people screaming in the comments.

“W̷e̶l̷l̵ ̷F̴U̶C̵K̶!̷”̵ He threw the mousse at the wall and sat down on the ground, the air filling with feedback. “D̸a̶m̶m̷i̴t̵ ̸C̵h̷a̸s̶e̵!̵”̸ ̷

“Anti, calm down- it was bound to happen.”

“Y̸e̴s̵,̷ ̷b̵u̷t̴ ̶n̵o̵t̸ ̴w̵i̶t̵h̷ ̶a̶ ̴d̵r̵u̸n̵k̵ ̷C̸h̷a̴s̶e̶ ̸a̸n̷d̸ ̴a̵ ̵s̵h̸i̷t̶t̵y̸ ̶c̵e̵l̴l̸p̵h̴o̷n̸e̵ ̴c̸a̵m̵e̴r̵a̴!”

“Then let’s make a proper one today and post it! It will go up a bit impromptu, but there’s not much we can do!”

“What’s going on?” Jack came out and saw a drunk Chase rambling to JJ. “Why is Chase drunk?”

“H̸e̷ ̸g̵o̸t̸ ̴i̵n̶t̸o̷ ̴t̷h̷e̶ ̷a̴l̴c̴o̴h̴o̸l̶ ̶a̸n̶d̷ ̸m̴a̷d̵e̵ ̴a̶ ̵v̴l̸o̸g̵ ̷a̶n̵d̸ ̸p̶o̴s̶t̸e̶d̷ ̶i̸t̵!̸”̷ ̸

“WHAT?!”

“And we need to make a video explaining everything.” Marvin finished.

“WHAT?!!!!!!”

JJ looked over, holding a passed-out Chase. _*Well this isn’t good.*_ The screen was dim with worry.

Jack looked like he was going to pass out too. He held his hands to his head. “What is going on?! I came out here because my phone started blowing up- what really happened?!”

“Host believes that he may be able to explain the situation in private.” Host had been here ever since Mark had left- apparently he was staying in a hotel with King a block or two away.

“Okay? Did you know this was going to happen?!”

“Host neither confirms nor denies that. Host says it was simply its time and that Jack must come to terms with it.”

“That’s not helping!”

|It’s true though, so let’s all move on.| Dark was relaxing on a set chair, drinking a glass of lemonade. |Should I make an appearance?|

“Host does not think that is the best idea with Creator unknowing of the plan.” He tilted his head to the side. “Creator Mark is calling in 5-4-3-2-“ The phone rang and Jack picked it up.

“Hey Mark!”

[JACK WHAT THE HELL?!] Jack held his phone far away from his ear.

“Well Mark-“

[I’m ordering you to not let the others be found out, okay?!]

“ _O̵r̴d̵e̷r̶i̷n̵g̴?̴!̷”̶_   Anti jumped up from the floor. “D̴o̵n̷’̶t̷ ̵t̸a̵l̵k̷ ̷t̸o̷ ̸h̷i̵m̶ ̵l̶i̸k̵e̶ ̴t̵h̷a̴t̸!̸ ̷W̷e̸’̵r̸e̶ ̸n̸o̸t̵ ̵i̵d̶i̷o̶t̷s̵!”

[Anti-]

“I’ll take care of everything Mark- it’s fine. You might have to do something similar eventually, but they’ll just think you’re playing your egos! It’s going to be fine!”

[It’d better be. Goodbye Sean.] And he hung up. Jack just stood there a second before throwing his phone into the couch and storming to his room. Host followed, dictating both of their actions until he was out of sight.

Anti just stood there and sighed, walking over to the recording room in defeat. Jameson and Schneep followed, ready to begin.

“Anyvone who vants to come can- itz not like ve’re not going to be revealed anyvay.”

With that Marvin and Jackieboy walked over with them to the room as well, the group of them squeezing in. Chase was still passed out so he wasn’t coming either. Dark said he’d look after him to make sure he didn’t die or anything. What a vote of confidence. They all huddled out of sight other than Anti, who sat in Jack’s usual chair.

Anti numbly set up the recording equipment, looking at the door one last time to see if Jack was going to come in. when nobody appeared, he looked at the others. “R̷e̴a̶d̵y̶?̵” They nodded, silent. Anti turned on the camera, reining in his aura so he looked almost normal except for the faint green of his skin and the stitched wound ‘round his throat.

“H̸e̵y̵ ̶g̶u̵y̷s̸!̷ ̷I̷’̴m̵ ̵j̸u̴s̷t̷ ̴g̴o̸i̷n̷g̴ ̶t̷o̴ ̵g̶o̴ ̷o̸n̸ ̶w̸i̵t̴h̸o̴u̵t̶ ̴i̴n̵t̸r̵o̷d̴u̵c̶t̸i̷o̷n̷s̷ ̶o̵r̵ ̷c̶o̴n̸t̵e̴x̴t̸-̷ ̶y̵o̶u̴ ̸a̵l̸l̴ ̸k̴n̸o̴w̴ ̸w̷h̵a̶t̵ ̶I̵’̷m̵ ̷ t̵a̷l̶k̵i̸n̸g̶ ̶a̶b̴o̸u̷t̵.̸ ̴A̶ ̵l̴i̶t̶t̵l̶e̵ ̷w̴h̸i̷l̶e̸ ̸a̴g̷o̵ ̵a̶ ̶v̴i̸d̷e̵o̷ ̷w̷a̵s̵ ̴p̴o̵s̶t̸e̴d̴.̴ ̴N̴o̸ ̴t̴h̵u̴m̶b̶n̵a̷i̸l̶,̶ ̶n̸o̶ ̵m̷e̵s̷s̴a̶g̶e̵-̴ ̶j̷u̴s̶t̷ ̶a̵ ̴r̶a̴n̵d̶o̸m̷ ̵ k̷e̶y̶b̵o̸a̷r̴d̶ ̶s̸m̷a̶s̸h̴ ̶f̶o̴r̸ ̵a̷ ̴t̷i̷t̷l̵e̷.̷ ̷W̷e̵l̵l̸,̴ ̵t̷h̴a̸t̴ ̸w̶a̶s̶ ̵a̸n̴ ̶u̵n̶p̴l̷a̴n̴n̷e̶d̴ ̴v̶l̵o̶g̶ ̷b̴y̷ ̷o̷n̷e̴ ̵o̷f̷ ̴t̵h̸e̵ ̴m̶e̸m̷b̸e̴r̵s̶ ̵o̵f̴ ̸o̸u̴r̷ ̴s̶t̷a̶f̵f̸-̴ ̶h̴e̶y̵ ̸g̵u̶y̸s̶,̶ ̵c̶o̸m̵e̸ ̴o̵n̶ ̶o̷v̴e̷r̷.”

They all came crowding over, jostling and shoving but somehow still staying somewhat silent. Jameson waved.

“T̷h̵e̸y̸ ̴n̷e̴e̵d̸ ̷n̷o̵ ̶i̸n̸t̴r̵o̵d̸u̸c̸t̸i̶o̸n̶-̸ ̶o̵h̷ ̶c̶o̶m̷e̴ ̶o̵n̴,̶ ̷s̶a̶y̶ ̴s̴o̷m̷e̵t̷h̶i̴n̵g̶!̷ ̷J̴e̴e̷z̸e̶,̶ ̶I̵ ̵h̸a̶v̵e̶ ̵t̴o̷ ̸d̶o̷ ̸e̷v̷e̵r̴y̷t̷h̴i̷n̴g̵ ̷a̸r̸o̴u̶n̶d̸ ̵ h̶e̷r̴e̶!.” He added a wink to the audience.

“Hello, I am Henrik Von Schneeplestein.”

“You already know me! I’m Jackieboy Man!”

Jameson said nothing but smiled and twirled his mustache- Anti assumed he’d projected one of his speaking screens in the video itself.

“I’m Marvin the Magnificent.” 

“A̶n̵d̷ ̷I̶’̸m̷ ̵A̶n̴t̸i̸.̸ ̷J̵a̸c̴k̶ ̷i̶s̴ ̸s̴t̷i̴l̵l̷ ̸k̸i̶n̵d̷ ̴o̵f̶ ̷f̶r̷e̴a̵k̶i̶n̶g̷ ̸o̵u̴t̵ ̶b̵e̴c̵a̸u̵s̸e̵ ̸o̶f̵ ̴t̴h̵e̸ ̷v̴i̸d̶e̷o̶,̶ ̸s̷o̴ ̷I̶’̵m̴ ̸y̷o̴u̴r̷ ̴e̴x̶p̸o̸s̶i̷t̵i̴o̶n̶!̵ ̶I̷s̵n̷’̶t̵ ̶that̷ ̵f̵u̶n̶?̶ ̶C̵h̶a̷s̴e̴ ̷i̷s̵ ̴k̷i̴n̸d̷ ̷o̶f̶ ̸p̴a̸s̷s̷e̸d̸ ̵o̸u̸t̸ ̴r̴i̴g̶h̶t̴ ̷n̸o̷w̷-̴ ̷y̸o̷u̴ ̷h̷a̷v̸e̷ ̴h̴i̷m ̵t̶o̴ ̸t̴h̷a̶n̴k̵ ̷f̶o̸r̸ ̸t̷h̴o̵s̴e̴ ̶e̶x̷c̵e̴l̷l̵e̵n̶t̷ ̵ c̶a̷m̴e̸r̵a̷ s̸h̶o̶t̴s̴ ̵i̶n̸ ̷t̶h̷e̷ ̷v̴i̴d̷e̵o̸ ̷e̷a̵r̵l̴i̸e̶r̶!̸ ̶A̶n̴y̵w̸a̴y̴,̵ ̷w̶e̷ ̶j̷u̸s̵t̸ ̶f̶i̸g̷u̶r̶e̵d̶ ̵w̷e̷’̶d̸ ̴t̷e̵l̵l̸ ̴y̸o̶u̴ ̸w̵h̵a̶t̴ ̴h̵a̴p̶p̸e̷n̷e̵d̸-̷ ̷k̸e̴e̷p̶ ̷i̷n̶ ̸m̸i̵n̸d̶ ̸t̶h̸a̸t̵ ̵t̶h̸i̶s̷ ̴i̶s̸ ̵n̸o̴t̵ ̶e̵d̷i̵t̴e̵d̸ ̴o̵r̴ ̶s̸c̶r̴i̶p̷t̴e̶d̴ ̷i̶n̵ ̵a̶n̴y̶ ̴w̸a̵y̷,̷ ̵w̴e̴ ̷j̸u̴s̵t̵ ̶t̶h̴o̴u̶g̵h̶t̷ ̴y̸o̵u̸ ̷s̷h̸o̷u̷l̵d̷ ̸k̴n̴o̶w̴.” He felt a weight on his shoulder. “O̶h̴,̴ ̴a̷n̶d̷ ̷h̸e̷r̸e̶’̷s̵ ̸S̴a̸m̶!̷ ̵I̶s̷n̶’̴t̶ ̷h̵e̴ ̶a̶d̴o̵r̶a̸b̵l̶e̵?̵”̷  Sam purred, bouncing up and down a bit. “Y̴e̷a̴h̷,̵ ̶y̴e̶a̶h̵,̵ ̸y̵o̵u̸ ̷t̴o̸o̴ ̸y̸o̶u̴ ̸l̸i̵t̵t̸l̵e̴ ̶g̵o̴o̴b̴e̵r̷!̷ ̸W̶o̶w̵,̷ ̶I̸ ̶s̵o̵u̵n̷d̸ ̴a̴ ̵l̴o̵t̴ ̶l̴i̸k̴e̷ ̸J̸a̵c̵k̸-̶ ̶r̵e̴m̴i̴n̶d̶ ̶m̷e̸ ̴t̸o̵ ̴g̶o̴ ̷a̸n̶n̶o̸y̶ ̶h̷i̶m̶ ̵a̷b̷o̷u̴t̸ ̶t̴h̴a̴t̷ ̵l̶a̸t̶e̴r̶.̴ ̷A̴n̴y̴w̷a̷y̶,̶ ̶t̴h̶a̴n̷k̷s̵ ̴f̴o̸r̸ ̵w̸a̸t̷c̷h̸i̵n̷g̴,̵ ̵P̷A̴M̷ ̶o̴r̸ ̷w̶h̷a̷t̵e̶v̶e̷r̴-̴“̵ He snuck another wink and giggled.“A̴n̶d̵ ̶h̷a̷v̴e̵ ̴a̷ ̷g̴o̴o̷d̷ ̴o̵n̷e̸!̵ ̵A̶s̴ ̴J̶a̸c̶k̵ ̶s̵a̶y̵s̷,̶ ̵I̷’̵l̷l̸ ̴s̵e̶e̸ ̸a̷l̷l̶ ̸y̸o̵u̵ ̸d̶u̷d̸e̸s̶-“̴

“IN THE NEXT VIDEOOOO-!” Everyone else filled in, laughing.

He switched off the camera and leaned back, turning around in the chair. “I̶ ̵t̵h̸i̸n̸k̸ ̴t̸h̷a̵t̵ ̷w̵e̷n̵t̴ ̶ p̴r̶e̸t̴t̵y̸ ̷w̴e̶l̵l̶.̷”̶ ̸

Jameson gave a thumbs up. _*Very charismatic too!*_ Anti waved him off.

“A̴w̶w̷,̷ ̸t̸h̸a̵n̴k̵s̶!̷ ̴I̴ ̷t̸r̸y̶.̶ ̴Y̵o̴u̵ ̶g̸u̷y̵s̴ ̸w̵a̷n̸t̷ ̴t̶o̶ ̷g̵o̷ ̸t̶e̷l̴l̸ ̶J̴a̵c̶k̴ ̵w̵e̴ ̵r̸e̷c̷o̶r̸d̵e̵d̶ ̵i̴t̴?̷ ̶I̴ ̶d̶o̵n̶’̷t̵ ̵t̵h̸i̴n̷k̷ ̶h̴e̷’̷l̴l̴ ̶w̶a̴n̷t̵ ̴a̶n̸y̴ ̴ m̴o̵r̷e̸ ̵u̵p̶l̴o̶a̶d̵i̶n̶g̶ ̷s̵u̷r̴p̴r̵i̶s̶e̶s̸.”

“Thanks for the thought, but feel free to upload it.” Jack was leaning on the doorframe. He’d been there the whole time? “I caught the tail end of it- it sounds good. Annoy me about what later?” Anti just flashed him a smile and disappeared into pixels, thinking that he had someone to talk to now that the whole thing was done.

 

\------

 

He appeared on a couch next to a fluffy dog. She barked at him, confused. He pet her head, lounging on the couch.

“Hey Chica, what’cha barking at-“ Mark rounded the corner with a sandwich in his hands. Ooh, one of those sounded really good right now. “What do you want Anti?”

“l̸ ̷I̷ ̶w̵a̵s̸ ̶c̵o̶m̸i̸n̷g̸ ̶o̵v̶e̶r̶ ̸t̶o̶ ̷a̸n̷n̵o̷y̴ ̸y̸o̵u̷,̷ ̷b̴u̴t̸ ̵I̵’̷l̸l̷ ̶n̷o̶t̴ ̶r̷u̴i̷n̶ ̴y̴o̸u̸r̷ ̷r̴e̸c̵o̵r̴d̶i̴n̶g̵s̷ ̵i̵f̴ ̴y̸o̶u̶ ̵g̴e̵t̴ ̵m̶e̵ ̸a̵ ̷s̵a̷n̵d̴w̵i̶c̴h̷.̶” He pointed to the one the youtuber was holding. “̷L̷i̶k̸e̴ ̸t̵h̴a̶t̸ ̸o̷n̵e̸ ̴p̸l̶e̷a̶s̷e̴.” Mark just stood there in shock before snickering and turning around.

“You are so like Sean it’s ridiculous.” Anti scowled, still petting Chica.

“Y̴o̴u̷ ̷k̸n̷o̸w̴,̷ ̶I̷’̸v̸e̷ ̷h̶e̴a̵r̴d̶ ̸t̶h̴a̵t̷ ̴a̶ ̴l̸o̸t̷ ̷l̵a̸t̵e̷l̵y̸.̵ ̵t̶h̵e̵ ̵a̶n̵n̶o̸y̸i̸n̴g̵ pe̵o̷p̵l̴e̸ ̵r̴e̴a̶l̷l̵y̶ ̵d̴o̸ ̴s̴e̴e̸m̷ ̴t̶o̵ ̷r̵u̴b̵ ̴o̸f̶f̴ ̸ o̶n̵ ̷y̴o̷u̴.̸  ̸N̶o̷w̸ ̸a̵b̴o̶u̴t̸ ̶t̵h̷a̷t̷ ̴s̷a̶n̴d̶w̷i̸c̶h̴-̶“̷ ̵

“Yeah, yeah. Keep Chica entertained and I’ll get you one.”

“W̷h̸a̸t̵ ̵d̶o̸e̴s̴ ̵t̷h̷a̷t̸ ̸m̴e̴a̷n̵-“ Chica jumped up and ran over to an adjoining room, and Anti was forced to follow. What he saw made his jaw almost drop. Was that-

Chica was happily playing with another slightly larger version of her- grey and red and blue- a tiny Dark!Chica? She was a thing? Why hadn’t Dark told him he had a dog?! He edged closer, immediately determined to pet her. Wow, Jack really was rubbing off on him. “H̷e̷y̷ ̷C̵h̷i̸c̷a̶-̸C̶h̵e̴e̵.” Both dogs turned towards him and he inwardly cursed himself. “̷I m̵e̸a̸n̷t̸ ̴D̸a̵r̸k̵ ̷C̵h̸i̴c̵a̸,̵ b̵u̷t̵ ̴I̵ ̴ d̵o̶n̴’̷t̴ ̴m̵i̵n̶d̶ ̶b̵e̷i̷n̸g̴ ̷s̷m̶o̸t̸h̷e̸r̴e̴d̶ ̶b̵y̴ ̵d̴o̶g̶.̶ ̷H̸e̸r̴e̷ ̵C̶h̵i̸-“ And he was promptly smothered by dog.

This was probably the best way to die. So he just lay on the ground, letting the dogs flop on top of him. Good thing he didn’t technically need to breathe-

“Chica! Darky! Get off of him!” The dogs bounded off.

“A̴w̸w̵ ̷M̵a̶r̴k̶…̸”̷ The man just stopped and stared at him.

“Anti. Do you really want to suffocate in dog?”

“̸I̷t̵ ̷w̴o̵u̸l̶d̵n̶’̸t̸ ̵b̸e̷ ̸t̷h̸e̵ ̷w̶o̸r̶s̸t̵ ̵w̸a̶y̸ ̴I̸’̷v̶e̴ ̷a̸l̶m̴o̴s̷t̴ ̴d̵i̴e̸d̶.̵ ̸C̸a̵n̸ ̶I̴ ̴t̴a̷k̵e̵ ̶o̸n̴e̶ ̵h̶o̴m̸e̷?̵”̷ ̵

“Dark would kill me.”

“̶A̷w̵ ̷c̶o̷m̷e̸ ̴o̸n̶!̷ ̶H̶e̷’̵s̴ ̸a̸l̷m̸o̶s̶t̸ ̶a̷l̴w̷a̶y̵s̶ ̴a̷t̸ ̶o̸u̷r̷ ̵p̴l̶a̷c̴e̵ ̸w̸o̶r̵k̴i̶n̷g̸ ̴o̵n̷ ̷v̶i̸d̶e̸o̷s̷ ̸a̴n̷d̶ ̸s̸t̵u̷f̸f̶ ̸a̴n̸y̸w̵a̸y̷.̷”̴ ̸

“No. You have a cat. Marvin would kill me.”

“̷M̶a̴r̷k̶-̶“̵

“Anti, I’d really rather not die. Do you want your sandwich or not?”

The demon sat up and grumbled, eating the sandwich in a few bites and walking over to the Chicas.

“Anti, no. You’re lucky Darky hasn’t eaten you yet- she normally hates anyone other than me and Chica.”

“̸W̶e̴l̸l̵ ̶I̶ ̷l̶i̸v̸e̵ ̶t̵o̷ ̸d̷e̷f̷y̶ ̷e̸x̸p̵e̸c̸t̴a̸t̴i̷o̴n̵s̵.̵”̶  He crouched and gestured to the dog. “̵H̷e̸r̸e̵ ̸D̶a̵r̵k̷y̶!̴~̴”̷ ̸The dog perked up her ears and ran over, almost plowing him over.

“Well she certainly seems to like you. I guess if Dark doesn’t come and scream at me and you bring her around every few days or so so Chica can see her…” He waited. Dark didn’t come and try to kill him or anything. “Sure. Come and get her stuff.”

“̷Y̸e̵s̴!̵ ̸T̵h̸a̴n̷k̴s̵ ̸M̸a̴r̷k̴!̴ ̵I̷’̸l̷l̶ ̸c̵e̷r̴t̵a̸i̶n̸l̸y̴ ̵t̷r̵y̵ ̴n̵o̵t̵ ̸t̴o̴ ̷k̴i̸l̷l̵ ̵y̵o̶u̷ ̸f̶o̴r̷… ̵o̷h̷,̴ ̴s̴i̸x̵ ̶t̸o̴ ̴e̷i̷g̵h̷t̴ ̴m̴o̵n̸t̶h̵s̶.̴”̸ ̴

“Well that’s good to know.” Mark said sourly, getting up and grabbing some dog toys and stuff. “It’s pretty simple- but keep in mind she eats more than a regular dog- always keep her bowl full or you’ll get some stuff you don’t want to deal with.”

“̵O̶h̴,̸ ̴I̷ ̵k̶n̶o̶w̶.̸ ̸I̷ ̷w̸a̶s̶ ̷t̷h̴e̸r̸e̶ ̸t̷h̴e̵ ̶l̶a̶s̴t̶ ̴t̸i̷m̶e̵ ̸D̸a̶r̸k̸ ̷w̵a̵s̵ ̵a̴n̵ ̵i̴d̵i̶o̸t̵,̷ ̶r̴e̴m̸e̸m̶b̴e̶r̴?̸”̸ ̶

|Hey! What are you doing with Celine?| They looked at him.

“̸Y̴o̸u̸ ̷n̶a̷m̸e̸d̴ ̴y̸o̸u̴r̷ ̴d̷o̸g̷ ̸a̴f̶t̷e̵r̵ ̵o̵n̷e̴ ̷o̷f̶ ̸t̸h̷e̴ ̵p̴e̸o̷p̵l̷e̷ ̶t̸h̵a̵t̸ ̴k̶e̵p̸t̸ ̴y̴o̴u̷ ̸f̷r̵o̷m̸ ̴d̸y̵i̸n̴g̶?̴ ̶W̶h̶a̷t̸ ̸n̷e̷x̷t̸,̴ ̴s̷h̷o̸u̶l̴d̶ ̸I̶ ̵e̵x̸p̶e̵c̶t̸ ̴a̸ ̵p̵a̵r̶r̶o̷t̶ ̶n̶a̴m̴e̵d̸ ̴D̴a̴m̸i̷e̶n̴?̴ ̶W̵i̵l̶f̸o̶r̸d̴ ̸t̷h̸e̶ ̴g̴o̸l̸d̷f̷i̵s̴h̸?̴”̸ ̶

|Don’t be ridiculous. Wilford was more useful than a pesky goldfish. And actually, Damien named her oh, a hundred years or so ago? She is a demon dog.| What had Wilford been, an alligator? _(Yes.)_

“That explains the eating people. I did however try turning her into a mostly chicken diet instead of beef though- she seems to be happier.”

|Hmm. But yes- where are you taking her? If you say Anti’s taking her I swear-|

“̴I̶’̶m̶ ̶n̴o̶t̸ ̸t̶a̸k̴i̴n̴g̴ ̷h̴e̷r̸.̵”̷

|That’s what I thought.|

“̵I̶’̶m̵ ̵a̸d̷o̴p̷t̷i̴n̸g̴ ̶h̴e̵r̶.̷ ̸Y̵o̸u̸ ̷o̸b̶v̴i̶o̴u̵s̷l̵y̸ ̴h̶a̸v̶e̷n̶’̵t̷ ̴b̵e̸e̶n̴ ̸p̶a̶y̵i̶n̴g̵ ̴e̴n̷o̷u̷g̴h̷ ̴a̵t̴t̶e̷n̶t̶i̸o̶n̷ ̷t̴o̵ ̴h̷e̸r̵-̸ ̶s̷h̸e̴ ̷p̴r̸a̴c̸t̵i̶c̶a̸l̷l̸y̷  ̸b̸o̴w̸l̶e̷d̵ ̶m̵e̵ ̶o̸v̴e̸r̸ ̷w̶i̸t̶h̶ ̴e̶x̵c̵i̵t̶e̴m̵e̶n̴t̴ ̶w̶h̸e̸n̴ ̶s̷h̷e̸ ̷r̶e̷a̵l̴i̴z̵e̵d̶ ̴I̴ ̵w̵a̸s̶ ̵a̶ ̸d̶e̸m̵o̴n̶.̴ ̶Y̶o̶u̷ ̴r̸e̷a̵l̷l̵y̵ ̵s̵h̶o̷u̷l̷d̶ ̴t̴a̵k̴e̸ ̸b̵e̷t̸t̶e̷r̵ ̵c̶a̷r̷e̷ ̶o̷f̴ ̷h̵e̷r̸.̵”̶ ̷

|Excuse me? You come into my house, take my dog-|

“Hey! This is my house-“

|And expect me to let you off scott-free? Hah!|

“̷W̵e̶l̸l̸ ̷d̴o̷n̴’̵t̵ ̶w̷e̶ ̸t̴h̸i̴n̵k̵ ̴i̸t̵ ̵o̶v̵e̷r̴ ̴f̶o̶r̷ ̴a̵ ̴m̴i̴n̸u̵t̵e̴,̷ ̴h̴a̸v̴e̵ ̶a̶ ̴d̵r̴i̵n̴k̷ ̴o̵f̴ ̶w̵a̴t̷e̵r̵,̶ ̷t̴a̴k̴e̵ ̷a̴ ̴b̵r̵e̸a̷t̶h̷,̴ ̵a̴n̵d̵ ̶l̸e̶t̴ ̴h̸e̶r̸ ̷d̵e̶c̸i̷d̶e̶.̵”̵

“|What?|”

“̶L̵e̶t̶ ̵h̷e̸r̸ ̴c̸o̶m̵e̸ ̷t̷o̵ ̶t̶h̴e̷ ̵o̵n̵e̶ ̷s̸h̶e̵ ̵w̵a̶n̴t̴s̴ ̵t̷o̴ ̵b̴e̶ ̷w̷i̸t̶h̴.̶ ̷I̶f̶ ̸I̵ ̶w̸i̴n̵,̸ ̴I̸ ̴g̵e̵t̴ ̸t̸o̸ ̴t̴a̶k̶e̷ ̸h̷e̶r̴ ̴h̷o̶m̴e̶ ̶a̷n̶d̷ ̴y̴o̴u̴ ̴s̴t̷i̷l̸l̸ ̴g̴e̵t̸ ̸t̴o̵ ̷s̵e̵e̷ ̷h̷e̸r̵ ̷w̸h̷e̶n̶e̷v̴e̶r̸ ̵y̷o̴u̵ ̴c̸o̵m̷e̸ ̸o̵v̵e̸r̶.̶ ̸A̷n̷d̸ ̶I̶ ̴g̶e̷t̷ ̶t̴o̵ ̵r̴e̶n̶a̶m̴e̸ ̵h̸e̷r̷ ̴D̸a̴r̴k̵y̴.̵”̶ ̶

|Darky?| Dark scoffed.

“̶Y̷e̷s̶.̴ ̴D̶a̶r̶k̴y̵.̴ ̴W̵h̴a̶t̶ ̶d̷o̸ ̴y̴o̸u̷ ̴t̶h̸i̴n̵k̷?̸ ̷I̵t̶’̷s̴ ̶e̶i̶t̸h̶e̷r̵ ̶t̷h̶a̵t̴ ̶o̷r̸ ̸D̴a̸r̴k̸!̷C̷h̷i̸c̶a̵,̴ ̸a̵n̷d̴ ̶I̸ ̸t̴h̶i̵n̶k̴ ̷i̸t̸ ̸c̵o̴u̸l̶d̸ ̶g̵e̵t̵ ̵c̷o̶n̴f̸u̸s̷i̴n̷g̵ ̷h̸a̵v̴i̶n̵g̴ ̴t̴w̴o̵ ̴C̸h̶i̷c̶a̴s̵.̵”̴

|Two Chicas.|

“̷F̴i̷n̸e̶,̴ ̷c̶o̸o̶l̸-̵ ̷I̷ ̶c̷a̴l̶l̷ ̷h̸e̶r̷ ̴D̵a̶r̸k̴y̸ ̵o̷r̴ ̵C̷h̷i̵c̵a̸-̷C̸h̷e̸e̷-̴“̴

“That’s Chica’s nickname!”

“̶-̴a̵n̵d̵ ̶y̷o̷u̸ ̶w̵i̶n̶ ̷a̶n̷d̴ ̴I̸ ̵c̷o̵m̶e̷ ̸a̵n̸d̵ ̶s̷e̷e̷ ̸h̵e̴r̵ ̶w̴a̴y̴ ̷t̶o̷o̴ ̵m̵u̵c̵h̵,̷ ̷g̴e̵t̴t̶i̴n̸g̵ ̷i̶n̶t̶o̵ ̵y̷o̸u̵r̵ ̶f̸a̸c̴e̴ ̶a̸n̷d̷ ̸c̶a̶l̵l̷i̵n̸g̶ ̷h̶e̸r̷ ̶ D̷a̴r̵k̵y̷ ̸j̸u̸s̵t̴ ̶t̸o̵ ̷a̶n̷n̸o̵y̵ ̷y̵o̶u̵.̵ ̷A̸n̸d̸ s̸t̷e̶a̸l̵ ̷a̵l̵l̶ ̴t̷h̶e̴ ̶f̷a̸n̶c̶y̵ ̶m̷u̴s̸t̷a̵r̷d̸ ̷y̶o̷u̶ ̷l̴i̸k̷e̶ ̷o̶n̶ ̵s̸a̵n̸d̷w̵i̷c̶h̵e̴s̷.̵”̴

|Heathen.|

“̵I̸ ̷t̴r̷y̶.̸ ̴W̶e̵l̵l̷?̸ ̵W̵h̷a̸t̷ ̴d̵o̷ ̴y̵o̶u̵ ̴s̴a̵y̶?̶”̴ ̸

Dark tilted his head to the side and sighed. |Fine, you can take her. Celine convinced me. She really does deserve better living conditions. Why do you care so much anyway?|

Anti just kept petting Darky. “̴I̷ ̷l̴i̵k̷e̴ ̴d̸o̶g̸s̷.̸ ̷Y̷o̶u̵’̷v̴e̶ ̵n̷o̴t̸i̵c̴e̶d̴ ̴h̵o̷w̷ ̷m̴u̸c̶h̷ ̵I̴ ̸l̵i̸k̷e̵ ̸M̵a̷r̷v̸i̸n̶’̵s̸ ̵c̶a̶t̷.̸”̷

|Everyone likes Marvin’s cat.|

”T̸r̸u̸e̵.̴ ̷Y̶o̶u̸ ̷r̵e̵a̴d̶y̶ ̴D̸a̸r̴k̵y̶-̷k̴i̵?̵”̷

|Darky-ki?| Dark said slowly, looking as if he was trying not to choke.

Darky barked and ran over, waiting patiently for her leash to be attached. Mark threw it over. “Remember to keep her bowl full. Walk her every day. She doesn’t need to be taken out or anything, so that’s easy, but if you ever get her a friend or something they do. Remember to keep her bowl full. Anything major I’ve forgotten?”

Dark shook his head. |I trust you know that I’ll be coming ‘round to check on her often.|

“W̷e̸l̴l̸ ̷d̶u̵h̸.̴ ̸D̶a̴m̷i̶e̵n̸ ̷m̷u̶s̷t̶ ̸b̶e̶ ̸p̵i̴s̷s̶e̷d̴.” He waved and the two of them disappeared in a series of green, red, and blue glitches.

Dark turned to Mark. |How did he- you know what, this is ridiculous.| He walked over and ruffled Chica’s fur. |See you Mark. Say hello to Bing and Google for me.| He paused. |Actually…| His head turned sharply towards the door and he popped over to the other side. There was a shocked noise that sounded like an annoyed printer. |Hello gentlemen.|

“Mr. Dark and Stormy!” Bing rolled into the room backwards on his heelies, hand raised in a mock salute. “How awesome to see you, I was telling my buddy ol’ pal Googs here that-“

“Gree̸tings.” Google glitched slightly and walked the rest of the way into the room. “My apologies for my… companion’s interruption. You know how unnecessary he is-“ He whirred for a minute before returning. “98% of the time.”

“Aw sweet! I thought I was averaging a 67%, but that’s a new record!” Bing kept rolling backwards, waving at Mark. “Suh dude! Did we just miss Anti? That sucks!”

|Bing, you know he causes you to glitch whenever he’s within three feet of you no matter what, right?|

Bing rolled around. “Well duh! Googs over there was saying something about some kind of power converter that could keep that from happening, but I was just like: now why would I ruin the chance for one of my friends to have a bit of fun, you know?”

Everyone just stared at him and sighed in unison.

|I really need Anti to either get you and Chase together for a skit or keep you guys on the opposite sides of the planet. Hey Google, which is better?|

“There are 10,400,000,000 results for; which is better? Perhaps you need to clarify your subject if you want a narrower search-“

“Dark, you did it again! Googs, you don’t need to look that up dude.”

“My primary objective is to answer questions as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

“Fine! Secondary objective?”

“Secondary objective disabled. Would you like to program in a new objective?”

“No. Bing don’t mess with Google. G-“

“Yes?”

“We’ll work on fixing that later if you want to. I’m sure it’s annoying. In the meantime, can you two just… how do I put this politely?”

|Go away?|

Google nodded and walked out. Bing sighed but rolled out to follow the other android.

“Why did we let him get heelies?”

|Because I told him no skateboarding in the house and he looked up alternatives to skateboarding and somehow found heelies.|

“Right.” Mark turned towards Dark. “So, you want to go play some chess before I record some stuff?”

|Please. You know I’ll beat you right?|

“Sure, but it’s still much more fun than playing against Bing or Google.”

|True enough. Want some lemonade?|

“Ooh, who has been teaching you manners?”

|I happen to be a gentleman Mark.| Mark just waited. Dark sighed and went over to the fridge. |Nobody. I just happen to have someone with similar life views to talk to and it has improved my mood.|

Mark looked taken aback. “Don’t tell me you’ve been talking to Wilford again-“

|No, I’m not an idiot. I met someone in the other dimension.|

“What other dimension?” Mark pulled over the chess set to the dining table.

|Oh, nothing important. Just a little one I found on a little stroll and happens to be directly connected to Jack’s computer.|

Mark almost took a spittake. “Pardon? What kind of person are you talking to?”

|As I’ve said, not from anyplace special, and has abilities similar to Loki. You know, the one who tried to take over New York oh, five years or so ago?|

“Are they a murderous psychopath?”

|Nope.|

“Huh. I am ashamed to say I’m surprised.”

|I am as well. Celine, not so much, but Damien is still somewhat wary.|

“Aw, Damien, man, let it go. Not everyone’s going to stab you in the back. What that other Mark did was the outlier, not the rule. Are we still going to play?”

|Of course.|

They sat down to play, Dark probably going to win his 54th win in a row. Dang, they really played a lot of chess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to post today and then I did the math and realized if I did that the last update would be Christmas if I posted for the holiday so.... yeah. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and have a lovely day!~


	82. Who let the Dogs Out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Assume all of this Sanders Sides stuff is highly accurate- it's not but it's an alternate universe so who cares lol.   
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy and have a great day!

They were making a Sanders Sides video. They hadn’t made one in quite a while- and while the fanbase understood they really should make one.

So Logan and Thomas were reading over the scripts, Roman was doing Dee’s makeup, and Remy and Patton were making sure the cameras and area was set up. Virgil was making sure his makeup looked fine before grabbing their signature outfits and stuff, along with the small props they would use. They filmed it with Remy holding the camera and filming it section by section so it could be edited together later.

They would have a decent amount of bloopers for a reel too- There would be the next video along with some of the stuff they already had from the shorts and stuff too.

Dee waited for his chance to come in. He wasn’t in this video all that much, so that was useful, and he could step in for the voices of the others if they needed to be overlapping for a camera shot.

He looked at the script. His turn was coming soon. So while the camera was focused on the others he snuck over to his position, dropping his script at his feet and giving his signature smile. “Well hello.~” Remy swapped to Thomas.

“Ah! Deceit! What are you doing here?! GET OUT!” Remy turned to one of the others before turning back to him, where he inspected his glove, smiling.

“Now why would I do that? I am summoned by lies, and they are simply flying _everywhere_ today. Why should I let you all have the fun? That would be _so_ smart of me.~”

“Wait- lies? Who’s lying?!” Thomas looked panicked.

“Thomas don’t take him seriously! He’s trying to confuse you! I’m not lying, I swear!” Roman tried to diffuse the situation. “He’s speaking backwards! Yes, that must be it! I’m telling the truth!”

“Yeah right. Why would I work to preserve your shreds of dignity? It’s Thomas I care about, and he shouldn’t be lied to by one of the ones that are supposed to help keep him from lying to himself. That would be _wrong_.~” He smiled snakily, cocking his head and peering towards a flabbergasted Roman caught in the act. “Don’t lie. I’ll know.” Roman gulped.

“Uh-“

“Roman?” Patton looked worried. “Is this true? Are you lying to us?”

“Wow Prince Charming, I didn’t know you were this much of a Maleficent.”

Roman raised his hands. “I’m not the villain-! I just-“

“Just what Roman? Lying is objectively wrong.” Logan furrowed his brows towards the prince.

“Now you know that isn’t true! In certain situations-“

“If it protects others, and that should be kept to a minimum kiddo! What you’re doing is… well… selfish. We can help you if you’re in pain, you know that, right?”

“Well yeah but-“

“Roman, if you helped me when… I ducked out… we can help you with your issues. That’s what we’re here to do. As- as your friends.”

“Well-“

“Roman. Tell the truth. Please.” Patton looked like he was pleading.

“I-“ Roman put his hand over his mouth to keep the words in.

“Roman. Don’t let the lies trap you. Break free. This might sound backwards, but Thomas deserves to know the truth just this once.” Deceit was completely sincere, staring the side down.

“I-“

“I know its hard kiddo. Just… tell us.”

“What are you not telling us Roman?”

“Tell the truth.”

Roman stood there for a few seconds, at a loss for words. “I-“ He swallowed. “I know I’m not good enough for you Thomas. I’m underperforming, too much of a dreamer, and you aren’t getting what you need done. We talked about what it was all for, but your dreams have already been fulfilled! You have so many people who love you and care for you- you have a wonderful community who seem to be willing to take my shortcomings- but I know that they aren’t. I’m a failure and a miserable excuse for a prince.”

“Now kiddo, that isn’t true-“ The camera waited on Patton as Roman took off the costume and went back to the same position. The others gasped.

“No. I don’t deserve these wonderful colors that decorated the heroes of old and imaginary- I should be in rags, stripped of my title. I can’t be Prince Roman with my job unperformed.”

“Well that’s an utter falsehood. Roman, it is impossible to be at your best all the time- that leads to physical and mental heath problems. Not that you shouldn’t try your best, but if you can’t that’s fine. We’re happy with whatever you give us, you know that. We don’t think lowly of you for what you give us, we think of you for who you are.”

“And you are a prince at heart. No matter if you have a blue period, we know you’ll get right back on top.”

“And while you might be a raging dumpster fire right now, you’ll turn back into your normal self eventually. You don’t underperform, and nobody hates you for what you do. What you think isn’t living up to your name is the best we could ask for. You tried your best, and that's enough.”

“Oh.”

“Deceit, don’t you have something to add?” Patton was starting at him. He looked at him in shock. He was diverging from the script? He pointed towards himself. Me? Patton nodded. He sighed and turned towards Roman.

“You’ve kept Thomas working towards what he wants to do. I can _absolutely_ do my job without knowing what he wants, and that is _not_ useful for self-preservation.” He eyed Patton. Good enough? Patton shrugged.

“That’s the spirit sorta! What he means is that you help keep us together Roman, and we love you no matter what. You know that right?” Roman looked down and sighed, pausing for a second then putting the suit back on and going back to his place.

“Yeah. Thanks I guess.”

“You are extremely useful and you do your job elegantly. I’m sure none of us could have your energy and your… what is the phrase… extra?” He looked at his vocab cards.

“Close enough.”

“Well I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy, how about you Roman?” Thomas looked towards the creative side.

“A bit better, yeah. Thanks.” Roman saluted and ducked down out of frame, sitting on the floor. Dee followed, waving at his cousin.

Thomas turned towards the camera. “And if you guys ever feel like you aren’t doing enough and that people are judging you for it, remember that you’re doing the best you can and people love you for you, not what you do.”

“Yeah! Kiddos, know that you truly matter for who you are, not what you do. The right people in your life will see that.”

“And if they don’t, well, I’d get some new friends or family members.”

“VIRGIL!”

Virgil smirked and ducked down to join the two of them on the floor.

“But yeah. Know that there is always someone that loves you for who you are. Seek help from those you love if you’re having trouble. Be safe out there. We all know the world can be a scary place, but if you have the right people to support you it can help a lot, no matter the issue. Peace out!”

Remy turned off the camera and they all clapped at a job well done, getting off the floor. “That was great guys!”

“Roman, acting for Princey spot on as always.”

“Aww, thanks!”

“That improv could have gone wrong easily, but it didn’t, so great job you two. Patton, if you want to do that sort of thing again though please tell us- it was lucky that it was Dee here who was able to hide his surprise. You really did it well.”

“Thanks kiddo!”

Dee gave them all a thumbs up and went to go clean off his makeup.

 

\---------

 

The dog and the cat were staring at each other. Marvin was biting his tongue to keep from yelling at Anti. Did he really have to bring a dog?! I mean, sure, it was a demon dog and that was cool and stuff, but still! He had a cat!

The two animals just stared each other down, silent. The cat moved, the red collar on her neck jingling slightly as she got up and sat closer. Dark’s- no, Anti’s dog- barked and moved its head down to sniff the cat’s head. If that dog did anything to his cat he swore-

The cat sat down between Dark’s front legs and curled up, the dog resting its head on her back. Well that was unexpected.

“̶S̵e̷e̶?̸ ̸E̵v̷e̵r̵y̵t̶h̶i̴n̸g̷’̵s̷ ̸f̵i̸n̸e̸ ̵M̴a̸r̸v̷i̸e̵!̴”̸

“Well it could have been not-fine Anti. You’re lucky It and Ace are both chill animals.”

“̴I̴t̷?̸!̶ ̶S̶h̶e̴’̸s̷ ̷n̷o̶t̸ ̴a̴n̸ ̷i̶t̶,̸ ̵e̶v̷e̴n̵ ̸i̶f̵ ̴s̷h̶e̷ ̶i̵s̴ ̴t̷e̵c̸h̴n̴i̴c̸a̷l̴l̸y̵ ̶a̴ ̵d̷e̸m̵o̵n̴! ̵H̸o̴w̶ ̴w̴o̵u̴l̷d̴ ̷y̵o̴u̵ ̵l̷i̴k̸e̵ ̷i̵t̸ ̷i̶f̷ ̶I̸ ̵c̷a̶l̷l̷e̶d̵ ̴y̶o̷u̷r̴ ̷c̶a̴t̴ ̵ i̶t̶,̵ ̸h̸u̶h̸?̵ ̴S̸h̴e̴’̶s̸ ̶a̶n̶ ̵a̷n̸i̴m̸a̶l̷ ̵t̵o̸o̸ ̴M̴a̸r̸v̸!̵”̶

“Fine. I’m sorry.” He wasn’t sure if he was, but if it kept this from escalating to a fight-

“̶Y̷o̵u̸’̸d̷ ̸b̶e̵t̶t̸e̸r̷ ̵b̷e̶ ̷ _M̷a̴g̸i̸c̶i̶a̶n̷.̶”̶_ ̴Anti spat, turning towards his dog. “H̴e̶r̴e̵ ̷D̸a̷r̴k̵y̴-̷k̸i̵!̸”̵ Darky-ki? The dog lumbered up and walked over to him, her aura leaving the air crackling slightly blue and red and black. She snuggled up under his hand, forcing him to pet her. Oh- she was really soft. A bit cold for a dog, but hey, that sort of thing was to be expected.

 

\-----

 

The one in the mask was staring at her with… she sniffed the air. Distaste? No, that wasn’t right… disapproval. That’s it. That was what loud human had done when she ate rare meat- she hadn’t eaten rare meat.

 **Hello!** **I’m Darky!** **It’s nice to meet you!** She barked to the tiny white cat in front of her. It gave off a scent similar to that of the masked man- magic. It was a magic cat? She sniffed it as it moved closer. It gave off the scent of demon… was it a demon cat?

 _Hello. I’m Ace.~_ The cat purred, reaching up with her face to sniff her daintily before curling up between her paws in the fashion the Cats of Bastet did at home. Most cats were dainty- Darky had never met a sloppy cat except for one in an alley in the thirties- and this was definitely a cat learned in her ways.

 **Are you one of my kind?** **You sure seem like one of Bastet’s cats.** She huffed, resting her head on the cat’s back lightly- a symbol of trust and affection.

_I was, long ago. When my Mistress returned to her realm-_

Green Demon talking with the masked man called her name. She scrambled up. **It was nice to meet you! We can talk later!** She moved towards Green Demon, smelling Masked Man. No, no trace of demon… but lots of stress and worry. She nudged herself under his hand, waving her tail. She looked at another person- Quiet Man. She ran over with a joyful yelp and wriggled around him. It was Quiet Man! She hadn’t seen Quiet man in ages-!

 _*Hey Monroe! I see you’ve made your rounds!*_ She heard the soft voice in her head and gave a doggy smile, sniffing his hand. He was one of the Nice Humans- there were a lot of Nice Humans here. He made some of his weird panels towards the others while scratching her head. Ooh, he still remembered the Spot- yes, that was nice.

 **Thank you Quiet Man!** She barked, almost dancing back to Green Demon with joy. She had a new owner now, but it was nice to see old owners too!

“You know her?”

 _*I met her outside one of my shops in what, fifty-nine?*_ He didn’t specify what fifty-nine.

“How does that work? You’re imaginary!”

|We share a realm you know. We know little concept of time- if we’re thought of there we have what seems like an age before we have the chance to come to this realm.|

“Holy shit that’s complicated.”

_*Yep! There are a lot more of us there- but it’s hard to go back. Some of us chose to stay- but most people don’t remember their time there unless they have a reason to- I don’t suppose most of you remember that?*_

Most of the people in the room shook their heads- except Old Master, Green Demon, Quiet Man, and Pink Friend. She remembered Pink Friend- he always smelled like candy and iron.

She barked and went over to Pink Friend, who was playing with a gun. **Hello Pink Friend!**

“Well howdy there! Long time no see- have any fun lately?” He laughed and ruffled her hair.

**No. Loud Human put me on a chicken diet.**

“Well that’s no fun! I’ll have to talk about getting you a steak or something every once and a while.”

**Really?! Thanks Pink Friend!**

He laughed and ruffled her fur again, placing the gun aside. “It’s no problem! We know that we need certain things, don’t we?” He sipped a pink martini with a wink.

“Hey, where’d you get the martini?”

“Well now why would I tell you that? That wouldn’t make it any fun at all!”

“Yah, ve vouldn’t vant to steal ze martinis, now vould we?” There were a few chuckles from the people. She decided to call him Ze Real Doctor. He seemed to know what he was doing.

Other loud human laughed, grabbing some bottles from the fridge. “Well, sorry, but I’ve only got waters.”

“I’ll take one!” Sad Human shouted, catching the one thrown to him. She tilted her head and came over, sniffing. Yep, definitely Sad Human. Recovering Human, but Sad Human. She jumped up beside him on the couch and let him pet her fur. “Oh- you’re so soft! Hey Jackieboy- look’ee here!” Another masked man came over- she’d call him Brave man. He smelled like he had a lot of courage. She settled into the couch happily as she got more pets. Ace went over to Masked Man and climbed onto his shoulders. So he was her preferred mode of transportation… hmm.

She decided that she’d had enough petting and got up, going towards the door, Anti following her. She wanted a walk. **Walk please!**

Anti just stood there looking confused.

“Anti! She wants a walk!”

 **Thanks Pink Friend!** She squirmed as Anti clipped the leash to her collar.

“A̷n̷y̸o̷n̵e̴ ̶w̸a̴n̸t̷ ̸t̴o̶ ̵c̵o̸m̷e̶?̸” Quiet Man and Pink Friend both stood up.

_*Sure!*_

“I dunno, I could use some fun!”

**Yay walk time! Let’s go, let’s go!**

The door opened, and they talked about going to a field near the house. Darky cocked her head then started to run, the leash tearing from Anti’s hand and them running to catch up. She went around the street corner and over towards a bridge. She ran across towards a large grassy field. She stopped as she crossed to the grass and sat down. Wilford yelled as he saw her, crossing the bridge.

“She’s over here! It seemed she knew where she was going! You’re a smart girl!”

 **Hello Pink Friend!** Wilford came over and unclipped her leash so she could run and stuff. Oh, this was going into Excellent Friend territory!

“Hello Darky! You might want to not do that again though, you gave them quite a scare.”

Oh. She ran over to the two others, who were jogging over. **Hello! Sorry for scaring you!**

She ran close for a couple of pets then eyed the wide-open space. Pink Friend had the right idea- this was the perfect spot! She ran across, letting herself grow as she did until her paws shook the ground and her bark was likely to travel for miles. They yelped as they saw the mountain that had formerly been a dog.

_*Well isn’t that dandy!*_

“̸I̷ ̶t̴h̴o̶u̴g̴h̶t̵ ̴y̵o̴u̷ ̴c̶o̴u̵l̵d̴ ̶o̶n̴l̵y̷ ̴d̷o̷ ̴t̸h̷a̷t̵ ̷i̸n̶ ̷o̶u̷r̸ ̵r̸e̵a̵l̴m̴!̵”̷ ̵

“Well I haven’t seen that trick for quite a while!”

She barked and ran over to them, causing them to fall to the ground with the shaking of the earth. She shrunk down to elephant size and lay down, the three of them watching the clouds.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe Darky's fun to write. Thanks for reading!


	83. A Cure!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter than usual, sorry, but hey, Dee has a few less things to worry about!

Gaster was working in his lab. Logan was working beside him on some cure prototypes, and Corsiva was working on extracting some raw magic from some SOUL samples.

“Hey, Doc? I think I’ve found something…” They looked over as Logan put some of his work in a vial and slid over his papers, labeling the jar.

“Logan…” Corsiva scanned the papers. “This might actually work. It might not reverse the process, but it should halt it. Well done!” He exhaled, relaxing.

“Well that is good news. I think Dee has been taking it hard- he’s been holed up and distant from the rest of us for a few weeks.”

“oh?” Sans had come in from his errand. “strange. i guess i can talk to him later-“

“Talking about me? How rude of you.~” Speak of the devil. Dee walked through the door, mask on and gloves hiding his hands as always. “Why am I the subject of your affection this time?” He leaned on the workbench next to them.

“I see your quick wit has gotten better Mr. Sanders. We believe we’ve developed a cure-“ Gaster haphazardly gestured to the vial-

And Dee immediately grabbed the vial and drank it to everyone’s shock.

“Dee!”

“Deceit Hermes Sanders I am disappointed in you. That hasn’t been tested yet-!”

“Logan, I could care less now. Will it reverse the process or halt it?” He slid the papers over to himself, reading them with interest.

“For now, all we know is that it should halt it. But you really-“

Dee looked the skeleton in the eyes. “I’ve said I could care less, and I meant it. Do you know anything else about it?”

“We haven’t tested it yet-“

“Is that a yes or no?”

“i’d answer his question dad.” They looked at Sans in surprise. What side was he on?

“…That would be a no.”

“Okay.” Dee sat down at the nearest desk chair. “I guess we’ll just see, won’t we?”

“hey dee, why’ve you been hiding away for a few weeks?”

“Wow, you’re not forward _at all_.” 

“i try. but seriously, what’s the reason?”

Dee just looked at Logan. He got the hint and stepped out.

 

\---

 

Dee unhooked his mask, and they saw the scales covering half of his face. His left eye- his magic eye- was yellow and snake-like. His jawline on one side seemed more curved than usual.

“Ta-da.~” He rested his chin on his hand. “Isn’t it _lovely_?”

“Has this affected your magic?” Gaster was deadly serious, looking at the eye closely.

“You tell me. I’ve been too afraid to use it once the eye changed colour.”

“Change your appearance.” He shifted to Logan. Gaster looked at him closely.

“Your illusions seem to be fine- your eye isn’t noticeable with the illusion on. How did we not notice it on the way in?”

“I have no idea.” Huh. And Gaster prided himself on his observation skills.

“Hey Sans-“

“i noticed it. thought you were using your magic for some reason though.”

“Hmm. Can you wear contacts?”

“Not really, no.” They made his eyes itchy.

“Hmm. You’d either have to let the news become mainstream or hide your face with an illusion or your mask. Or even a combination of the two. How far has it spread?”

“From the palm of my left hand to the left side of my face- it just curls around the arm and goes up the neck- nothing on the torso or anything.”

“Hmm… I take it from your normal speech patterns that it hasn’t changed your mouth structure at all?”

Dee stuck out a perfectly normal tongue. “Nope.”

“Well that is fortunate. In the meantime, I believe you should probably let Logan in.”

Dee nodded and replaced his mask, putting an illusion over his eye for good measure.

“Well? What did I happen to miss, if you will tell me at all?”

“We talked about emotions- I know you would be uncomfortable in such a situation so I sent you out.” Oh. Well then.

“I appreciate the gesture.” Logan sat down at the table.

“Well I suppose you have lots of work to do- so I’m just going to leave you to it and probably go see Frisk and Flowey. Haven’t seen them in a while.” And he stepped out, masking himself enough to be unnoticeable unless you were looking straight at him.

Well he guessed he had a couple of smaller projects to work on.

 

\--------

 

Dee really shouldn’t have lied and said he was going over to Frisk’s. He supposed he could call them or something instead… yes, that would do.

In the meantime, he probably should go back to his room so he could stop the illusion masking his eye. It wasn’t much, but the fact that he hadn’t been using his magic for a week or so meant that he needed to work his way back up.

He opened the door and went straight upstairs, wondering why nobody else was around. It was the weekend, so Remy was at work, and Logan was at the lab, but the others?

He was almost up the stairs when Patton appeared in the middle of the living room talking with Anti and… was that a dog?

“Well hello.”

Patton looked up. “Hey, did you know Dark had a dog?” Oh, so it was Dark’s dog? Huh.

“Nope. She’s a nice dog though.”

 **Thank you Snake Friend!** He jumped slightly at the voice that came into his thoughts.

“She can talk?!” Patton and Anti frowned.

“N̷o̵.̴.̶.̵.̶”

“Are you okay kiddo?”

He shook his head slightly and nodded. “Yep. Must be school getting to me. Heh. I’ll have to add that to the list of weird things I’ve done while sleep-deprived. See you guys around.” He hurried up the stairs. He could have sworn that the dog had talked…

He opened his door to see the dog from downstairs sitting on his rug. Oh jeeze…

“I don’t suppose you actually talk, don’t you?”

 **Hello Snake Friend! I can talk, it’s just that few understand! It’s nice to meet you! You have a very nice room!** The dog practically spoke in exclamation points.

“Well it’s nice to know that I’m not going that crazy. How’d you get up here?” And he was having a conversation with a dog. Still not in his top three though.

 **I’m a demon dog. We can teleport you know. Do you have any food?** Of course she would ask that. She’s a dog.

“Maybe downstairs… I’ll ask Patton.” He went outside and saw the dog sitting on the couch. Yep, definitely teleporting.

“Hey Pat? The dog seems hungry.”

“̷W̷e̶l̵l̴ ̴I̶’̶m̸ ̸g̸o̶i̶n̸g̸ ̴t̷o̵ ̷g̵o̷ ̵h̶a̴v̸e̷ ̴t̸o̵ ̵g̴e̵t̷ ̸h̵e̵r̶ ̵s̷o̸m̷e̵ ̵f̵o̸o̶d̸ ̷t̵h̷e̶n̸.̷ ̴I̷’̴l̴l̷ ̸s̷e̷e̸ ̵y̸a̷ ̴g̶u̷y̷s̸ ̴a̵r̶o̷u̵n̶d̵ ̸I̸ ̶g̴u̴e̷s̷s̷.̶ ̴C̸o̵m̸e̸ ̴on/ D̸a̵r̷k̵y̸-̷k̵i̵!”

**Bye Snake Friend!**

The dog jumped up and they both disappeared into glitches and shadows. Huh.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. I have to say, Darky's rather interesting to write.   
> Anyway... guess what time it is? FINALS WEEK!   
> I'll try to post on Wednesday as usual, but it's a busy week and it might end up happening on Thursday or something. (I need to work more on the sequel lol)   
> I hope you all have a good day/week/whatever, and if you're still in school good luck to you all!


	84. Unmasked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy this one's a long one. Welp.

Dee, Patton, and Virgil were looking for some stuff for the lab. In the rain. And Logan wasn’t here to tell them what to look for. Ughhhh….

So they were spread out through the forest looking for… whatever it was. They were told that they’d know it if they saw it but that was just really vague. What was it, a plot device? Had he left some Crofters behind while getting some samples?

So here Dee was trudging through the rain with a manifested umbrella. He heard footsteps behind him but turned and saw nothing. Okay… this was getting creepy. He was probably imagining it, but he really should get back to the others before he turns into Virgil.

“Well what is someone like you wandering around in the middle of a forest for?”

Dee turned around at the voice and was face to face with a man in green and golden armor- oh my god those horns looked ridiculous. Heh. But seriously, why was he pointing a staff at him?

 

Memories came flooding back of the marvel movies he had only paid half-attention to. Well frick, he was face to face with Loki, the literal god of lies. How had he gotten here?

 

“Kneel.” Oh, so he was still on the whole kneeling thing? That was _great_.

 

“Nah, I’m good.” The man jabbed his scepter at him.

 

“KNEEL!”

 

He casually watched a few wisps of blue smoke curl towards him, but they didn’t really do anything.

 

“Sorry, but I really do have to refuse.”

 

“Ugh, what is it with you people and your refusal to kneel?” The god muttered, reaching forwards to jab the scepter at his chest, the sharp point actually hurting a fair bit. “Now Kneel.”

 

He felt his eye light up as his brain resisted. “I’d really rather not- you’re rather forward, you know that?” The blue light flared up, almost blinding him for a second.

 

“I’ve been told. Now follow me.” He turned to walk away and Dee simply stood there. “Still?! You mortals are insufferable-!” He pulled out a knife. “Oh well, I’ll just have to kill you.”

 

Dee started to back up. “You know, I’d really rather you didn’t. I’m sure I can be of use to you somehow.~” The man stopped.

 

“You’re right.” Oh, good. That worked. “You would do me no good as a mindless drone- would you accept a job?” Hmm… should he pretend, or-? “You don’t seem convinced.”

 

“Oh, no, I’m convinced- I’m just wondering whether your offer has free health care or whether I’m going to have to go accept another deal.” He scrambled back a step, holding his hands up as if to admit surrender. “However, I’m going to have to decline.” He covered Loki in the best illusion he could and ran. Hopefully he’d believe he was teleported-

 

He heard an angry shout behind him just as he reached the others. “Guys. Home. Now.” Patton didn’t even blink as he outstretched an arm and the three of them fizzled away, Virgil looking over his shoulder at where the noise had come from.

 

“Who the hell was that?”

 

“Loki, the god of mischief.” He sat down heavily on the couch.

 

“LOKI?!”

 

“Yes, yes- that Loki. Now if you’ll excuse me, I really have a few friends to call.” He pulled out his phone and stood up, pressing call on one of his contacts. “Hey Stark?”

 

[Dee?]

 

“Yeah, it’s Dee. We have a bit of a problem that I think you guys know how to deal with more than we do. Mind if I put you on speaker?”

 

“How the heck did he get Iron Man’s number?” Well when Virgil put it that way it really did sound crazy.

 

[Sure. What’s the problem Dee? You wouldn’t call for a social visit. Do you mind if I put you on speaker here too?]

 

“Who’s there?”

 

[Oh, just a couple of friends of mine.]

 

{We are not friends Stark.}

 

[Aw, Dumbledore- shut up. Anyway, can I…?]

 

“Yeah, sure. You all ready?”

 

A voice came from the phone that he somewhat recognized. {Yes- what required our attention?}

 

“Is that Doctor Strange?” Patton peeped. Oh no, he was fanboying.

 

“Patton, chill. Hey, sorry to bother you, but we kind of had a run-in with someone from your universe.”

 

[Great job being vague there kid.]

 

“It’s just for dramatic buildup. It’s Loki. Dee ran into fucking Loki.” Virgil supplied, throwing his hands into the air.

 

“{Language!}”

 

[Doc- you’re one to talk. What happened?]

 

“I ran into him in the forest around Mt. Ebbot while looking for some stuff for someone and he tried to do his whole Kneel thing. I booked it to the others and we came here and called you.”

 

[Did he try to mind-control you?]

 

He thought about it. “He did have his scepter thing- so yeah, I think so.”

 

{Did it flash blue?}

 

“Yep.”

 

[Well shit. Guys, are his eyes blue?]

 

Virgil turned him around and stared deep into his eyes. “Not that I see- but he could be using an illusion.”

 

Dee sighed. “I’m not mind-controlled.”

 

{That’s what he’d want you to think. What do you think about Loki, Dee?}

 

“That he’s a pompous jerk who’s used to getting his way.”

 

[Well he’s not wrong.]

 

{Okay… you should be fine… Stark, that line up with what you saw?}

 

[Yep- you sure the scepter was blue Dee?]

 

“Unfortunately- which is strange given that the stone itself is yellow, but I guess that’s not very important. Anyway- I think he tried to control me but couldn’t. I’m not sure if I could control him, but I think I could be suggestive. He almost believed me when I said he could use me for something else other than a corpse.”

 

“ **He did WHAT?!”**

 

“Virgil, calm down. It’s not my first death threat from people. Anyway-”

 

“I’m not sure to be worried or impressed kiddo.”

 

[Me neither. You sure you’re human? Only Thor aggravated people this much.]

 

{No, you do too.}

 

[You complement me Strange.]

 

“Yes, I’m human. Thanks for the comment. It’s great to know I’m as aggravating as the mighty Thor! I never thought I would have come to see this day- my best trait almost surpassing a god’s.~” He wiped an imaginary tear as Virgil chuckled silently.

 

{Yeah, yeah, laugh it off. Why didn’t he kill you?}

 

“I cast an illusion around him and booked it.”

 

{Pardon?}

 

“He cast an illusion around Loki and ran for help like the coward he is.” Virgil was fiddling with a pen and smirked.

 

“VIRGIL! That wasn’t nice!” Patton crossed his arms.

 

“True though.”

 

[Okay, okay, no rioting amongst the youth!]

 

“Yeah, I don’t resent that _at all_. But seriously, what should we do? He could attack or something!”

 

{I don’t suppose you have any way of getting us there ourselves? Where are you?} Stark whispered something. {Okay, never mind. Do you have a contact in this universe?}

 

“Where should we start? Here- go to-” He told them the address of the Egos- “-and say that the Sanders sent you. As for you magic-man, don’t start throwing people around or anything- they have some temperamental roommates. Bring who you want, but you’re going to have to go one at a time- they only have two teleporters-”

 

“They can go three at a time. I can teleport one… probably.” They stared at Patton.

 

“You can teleport there?” He nodded. “Okay then, three. Maybe four if you count a dog I know. One might be able to make a portal with enough notice but that depends on a lot of stuff.”

 

[Okay… you know this is really risky, right?]

 

{We’re going to go do it anyway, aren’t we.}

 

[Well of course! See you guys around in, oh- a few hours your time? Maybe tomorrow?]

 

{How long should this take?}

 

[Oh, not too long. Just have to grab a few people and see-]

 

“Just get him, bring him back to your crazy universe, and get him away from my family.” They stared at the completely serious Patton.

 

[Okay then. See ya Weasleys.] And he hung up.

 

“Weasleys?”

 

“Probably a pun on how many of us there are. Don’t worry about it. Want to camp out down here with the others for the night in case they show up?”

 

“Sure.” Patton teleported off to get pillows and blankets. Virgil texted Roman, Logan, Remy, Thomas, and Picani. Dee went upstairs to go check that the scales still hadn’t spread. Looked like the serum had worked. Thanks Logan. He went downstairs to see everyone but Picani already there and set up. That was fast...

 

“You okay kiddo? You were up there for quite a while…”

 

He glanced at the clock- no way had forty-five minutes passed!

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just lost track of time. Nothing big. We all set up?”

 

“Yep! I have videos, games-”

 

“Roman, we are here to wait for the arrival of the Avengers and Egos. Why are we going to play games and watch movies?”

 

“For the time to pass silly! Now who wants to watch Steven Universe?” So they watched Steven Universe.

 

\----------

 

Tony walked through the portal. A dog started barking, but he paid it no mind. “Is this the place?”

 

“Looks like it. Want to knock?”

 

“Sure.” He went over and banged on the door, the sound easily carrying to the neighbor’s apartment. A man poked his head out and goggled. Then he jogged over.

 

“Hey! Say, what did they do this time? I have a key if-”

 

The door opened and they all stared. What the hell-

 

“̴C̷a̷n̶ ̶I̴ ̶h̶e̶l̵p̶ ̵y̵o̶u̷?̸”̶ ̸

 

“Yes, the Sanders sent us. We need to get into their dimension.” The glitch raised his brows and gestured them in.

 

“̶S̸o̵ ̵t̵h̵a̴t̸ ̷w̸a̸s̵ ̵w̷h̴a̷t̴ ̴P̷a̴t̷t̶o̸n̷ ̸w̶a̷s̶ ̶o̵n̶ ̴a̶b̵o̸u̸t̷.̶ ̸I̴’̷l̶l̵ ̴g̷o̶ ̴g̷e̶t̷ ̸M̵a̸r̷v̷i̸n̸.̴”̸ And he disappeared into pixels. He looked over to Strange, who looked like he’d just gotten slapped.

 

Then a man rounded the corner eating an apple. Was that a cat mask? “I heard from Anti that you needed me? Nice to see you again Mr. Master of the Mystic Arts.” Strange looked like he was almost about to choke. Tony almost laughed.

 

“Yep. Loki got into their dimension-” The man shuddered and gestured for them to come in.

 

“Come on in then. There are people there that you do not want to see mind-controlled.”

 

“Okay then.”

 

They stepped inside.

 

\-----

 

They were watching movies and Roman saw that Dee was asleep. He had a mischievous smile on his face.

“Anyone want to draw on his face?” He pulled a marker from between the couch cushions.

“How long have you had that there?”

“Not important. I need to get his mask off first…” He tossed the pen at Thomas, who was half asleep, and carefully pried the mask off of Dee’s face. Then he screamed. Dee sat up way too quickly, almost whacking his head on Roman’s.

“What happened? Are they here?” He saw the mask in Roman’s hands. “You were going to draw on my face, weren’t you?” Roman just squeaked.

“That is a yes. Roman-“

Patton flicked the light on and Dee automatically covered his face and hissed, cutting Logan off.

Roman was still freaking out. “What the hell is wrong with your face?!” Virgil sat up, now deciding to wake up.

“What’s going on?”

Dee’s flight-or-flight reflexes kicked in and he jumped up, still covering his face. He whirled around to get upstairs, but a leash tightened around his ankles and he fell like a tree. Logan didn’t even look sorry as he made the length of purple disappear. “Okay, what is this foolish-“   


He faltered as Dee got off of the floor, holding his hands over the side of his face and trying to leap over the back of the couch. Thomas tackled him and the two of them wrestled on the couch, all of them still somehow not glimpsing a glance at his face except Roman, who was sitting with his back against the fireplace, completely horrified. Thomas wrestled Dee’s hands from his face and gasped, pushing himself away and off his cousin.

“Oh, Deceit-“ Dee just thrashed out of his grip and landed face-first on the floor. That must have hurt…

“What the flip is going on?! You guys wake me up-“

Dee just silently got off of the floor, eyes murderous. “What “happened” Virgil, is that these idiots decided to take my mask off!” He glared at Roman, who squeaked. He swept his multicolored gaze over all of them. “So yeah. Thanks a lot.” He crossed over to the stairs and started to climb. Picani came out of the hallway just in time for Dee to run into him.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…” Dee muttered.

“Langu- oh. What is all this?” He tried reaching forwards to cup the teen’s chin, but his hand was pushed away and Dee ran past him and into his room. There was an awkward silence.

“I think we scared him.”

“Oh, gee, you think?” Remy stood up and climbed past Picani, giving him a one-armed hug before sitting in front of his twin’s door, holding his brother’s mask.

All they could do was wait for something to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was bound to happen eventually, right?
> 
> Thank you for reading and have a great day!


	85. "We've All Got Voices In Our Head"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Be More Chill

Dee was just so fucking mad. Well, and disappointed with himself. He knew this sort of thing would happen at some point, he just didn’t want to face it. And now he’s gone and probably scarred his family for life. Whoop de fricking do.

He listened and heard a soft snoring outside of his door. Who would even think-? He opened the door to see Remy passed out on the other side, oblivious to his movements. He rolled his eyes and dragged his brother into his room. He was the only person who he didn’t mind for company. So he put him on his bed and waited for him to wake up. In the meantime, he just sat and looked at his face. Ironic, wasn’t it, that the scales had spread this far? That his eye had turned yellow, that he was a spitting image for Thomas’s character? Huh. It was almost funny.

_“Well aren’t we just getting more and more similar?”_

He jumped and looked around for the source of the voice. That almost sounded like… but that was ridiculous. He was probably hiding somewhere in the forest, thinking of ways to take over the world.

“Hello?” He said quietly, hoping that he didn’t wake Remy up.

_“Oh, forgotten me so soon?”_

Well shit. There was another thing on the list that made him sound crazy. And another thing on the list of don’t tell anybody ever. Yay.

He just faceplanted on his desk, completely done with the world.

“Dee?” He turned around. Remy was up.

“Hey Rem.”

His twin paled slightly when he saw his face, but hey, that was kind of to be expected.

“Hey- I don’t really want to sound rude hon- but what did happen to your face?” He sighed and turned away.

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?”

Remy was silent, but Dee saw that he’d shaken his head in the mirror. “Okay. So. Logan, Flowey, Gaster, Corsiva, Sans, and Frisk know, along with Stark although he only knows about it when it first started.”

“Okay… that’s a lot of people.”

“Tell me about it.” He pulled off his left glove. “It started here- an inch-wide section of scales. I noticed it when we were in the other world.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us why?”

“Because I’m a selfish idiot. You know that well enough. Anyway, it spread as I used my magic. By the last Sanders Sides video… I think it had crept up the arm to the shoulder? Then I hid for so long because it had reached my face. Then I went to the lab where they had made a cure. It seems to be working, so that’s nice. Can’t reverse the effects though.”

He digested this in silence. “So you didn’t trust us?”

“No, no! It wasn’t that at all!”

 _“Yes it was.”_ Oh, shut it Loki.

“It wasn’t! It was me, not you. I totally trust you guys.”

“Then why didn’t you show us?!”

“Because I was scared, okay?!” His voice cracked slightly and he coughed. “I was scared. I didn’t know how you would react to… to this.” He gestured to his face, sighing. “I’ve been looking at it for weeks and I’m still not. I know I should have told you.”

“Yeah. Don’t do something like that again, okay? I think you scared Picani.”

“Well shit. Nobody likes to see a scared Picani.”

“Or an angry Picani. You hear about the time he ripped into Linda at a PTA meeting?”

“Many times. Wish I could have seen it. We should go to the next one.”

“Heh. Yeah.” They both sat in silence. Dee went under his desk and passed Rem a Caramel Frappuccino bottle he’d picked up at the store a few days ago for if he pulled an all-nighter.

“Here.” Remy grabbed it and chugged half of it down, smiling.

“Thanks. You ready to come down? I have your mask.” Remy tossed it at him, and Dee inspected it closely for any cracks.

“I can’t believe this didn’t get stepped on. Thanks.”

“No prob hon. You ready?” Dee slipped the mask over half of his face and gave a thumb’s up.

“Let’s go.” They stepped out. As they reached the railing a portal opened in the ceiling and Marvin fell in.

“That’s the last time I let anyone else help me with my portals… Oh, hello.” He got up as Doctor Strange floated down.

“Greetings. I see you are ready for us.”

“We’re going to need some coffee.” Patton and Remy went over to the kitchen, leaving Dee on the stairs.

“Hello- are there-“

And people fell through the portal, narrowly missing each other except For Anti and Dark, who simply teleported in. Darky jumped through with ease, causing the people on the floor to groan.

**Hello!**

Stark picked himself off of the ground. “If anyone says that happened I will blast them.”

“It’s not fun, let me tell you.”

“What happened? I didn’t see anything. Coffee?”

“People pick themselves off of the ground and the Host accepts the generous offer of coffee…” Oh, Host was there. He hadn’t met him yet.

“Hey Jim?”

“Yes Jim?”

“Do you think that Jim at home would like to hear about this?”

“I sure do Jim. Hello, I’m Jim-“

“-and I’m Jim. We bring hellos from our Aunt Jim, Uncle Jim, Sister Jim-“

“Jim and Jim at home-“

|We tell them hello as well Jims. Would you like some coffee?|

Wilford took them away, talking about Interviews and Collaborations. Dark and Anti sighed in unison before glaring at each other.

“So Loki is in your universe?” Jack was drinking a mug of coffee with Sam perched on his head. JJ walked around with Host, making sure he didn’t get any blood on things when he moved too much.

“Unfortunately. It’s nice to see you guys again.”

“Hello. I am Google.”

“Suh dudes! I’m Bing!” Was he wearing heelies? He noticed Patton’s envious expression and Mark’s eyeroll. So this was the Mark of their universe? He’d better start introductions.

“Hello. I’m Dee.” He extended a gloved hand after sliding down the banister.

“Hello- this is quite a crazy conglomeration of people.”

“It hasn’t even gotten crazy yet. I see Patton is going nuts trying to get coffee to everyone though. Do you want me to get you some while I can?”

“Do you think I’ll need it?” He looked at the youtuber closely and nodded.

“You’re a youtuber. Coffee runs through your veins. We might be here for a while. I’ll get you a mug.” He nodded to Remy who floated one over. He handed it to the shocked man. “Huh. The other you accepted this much faster. Probably helps when you’re being controlled by a demon. They wanted to get together for a cup of coffee by the way.” Mark only nodded, still looking at the others in confusion.

“Mark? You okay buddy?”

“Uhhhh…” He turned to Jack.

“Would a scare snap him out of it?”

Jack shrugged. “Maybe. Probably. Worth a shot.” Dee shrugged and pulled off his mask.

“HEY LOOK I’M A SCARY THING!” Mark screamed and bolted back as Dee let out a laugh and replaced his mask. “Okay, that was funny.” His face did have a use after all.

“That does seem to have worked… I’m not sure whether to ask about the snake face or not but I’ll let it be.” Thank god.

“Thanks. You okay Mark?” He reached out a hand to let the man up. He just lay there staring at his hand before taking it and getting to his feet.

“Uh- yeah, I guess. This is just super confusing.”

“You get used to it. Anyone want more coffee?”

“Sure!”

“Zat vould be nice.” Coffee was shared and chairs were pulled over. Strange and Stark just stood together and whispered. Dee was contemplating hiding himself with an illusion to eavesdrop when they turned around and cleared their throats, causing everyone to look at them and the Host to start mumbling quietly.

“Well we have thought of a plan.”

“You mean I thought of a plan.”

“Shut it Stark. Well, we were thinking of drawing him closer so we can-“

“Absolutely not.” Picani piped up from his spot on the couch.

“Pardon?”

“There are innocent people here. We cannot risk their safety just so it would be slightly easier to get to him.”

They thought for a second. “Well he’s certainly going to come anyway. We might as well use that to our advantage.”

“But what about the clones?”

“True. Hmmmm.”

“The Host suggests that they use the strengths of the individuals to work as a team, implying that the two superheroes in question are not alone in the endeavor. The dialogue continues…”

“̸H̶o̸s̸t̶ ̶i̴s̸ ̶r̷i̴g̵h̶t̶.̸ ̷W̷e̷’̴r̷e̸ ̴h̶e̴r̷e̵,̴ ̶a̸r̷e̷n̷’̵t̵ ̶w̷e̷?̷”̶

“And some of us have already had experience with Loki.” Anti facepalmed as the room turned towards Marvin.

“YOU HAVE?!”

“Briefly. He tried to mind-control us.”

“You say tried… Did he succeed?” Dee stared him down, knowing what would have happened.

“Yes and no. He converted me but my magic managed to make it so I couldn’t be used, and Anti here glitched.”

“̴I̸ ̴a̵l̴m̵o̸s̷t̷ ̴k̸i̸l̴l̵e̵d̴ ̶h̷i̷m̵ ̷t̸o̴o̵…̴.̷”̶ ̵Anti pouted.

“That means he still might have control over your mind to some extent. We should be careful where we put you two…” Dee started to pace as he thought.

 _“You know I’ll be able to defeat your puny defense force.”_ Fuck off.

“Well he can’t completely control me, Stark, Marvin, Anti, and I should assume Dark and Darky to that extent as well. Wilford, what about you?”

“What about ol’ Warfsatche?”

“Do you think he could control you?”

“I dunno… existence has its own rules. But I doubt it.”

“Good. We’re going to have to be the attack force.”

“But that’s most of our people in one place- we don’t have the-“

“Yes we do.” He snapped his fingers and conjured illusions of some of his files he had kept intact, reorganized for their purposes. “We have the Monsters and the SOULS, remember? Not to mention I might be able to convince the NMC to help-“

“The NMC?! We can’t rope them into this- it’ll be an all-out war!”

“It already is. We might need their numbers- if he doesn’t get to them first.” Well now he was just giving him ideas. “We’ll have to go to them first. I’ll have to send some people to look for them. Anyway, we might have to pull together a lot of people….”

“Wait, Dee, you said that he’d tried to mind-control you- he still could have a bit of control over you.”

Well crap. He was right. Should he tell them?

_“They’re right you know. Sure, I might not be able to control you, but I know all of your strengths. Your weaknesses. You’re playing right into my hands.~”_

“Well, sure. He does have that. But I don’t think he could do more than annoy me to death.”

“Wait- is he already messing with you?” Picani looked nervous, probably already thinking of the psychological impacts.

“Eh, don’t worry about it.”

“That means we can’t use you though. Security and all that.” Well, that was certainly accurate.

“The thing is I basically know everything about people. If he could get it, he’d already have and wouldn’t be bothering me.”

“So he can’t read your mind?”

“Nope. Just bug the flip out of me and possibly listen to what we’re saying.” He sighed internally, steeling himself for the inevitable irritation.

“Huh.”

_“It’s rather annoying to be honest.”_

“Oh, shut it Reindeer Games.” He soon found himself faced with a snorting Stark and a very confused audience.

“What?”

“What?”

“Whomp’st’d’ve?””

_“That’s his ridiculous nickname for me.”_

“Well it’s rather fitting.”

_“Oh, shut it.”_

“Only if you will.”

 _“You’re worse than my brother.”_ But the god did cease his chatter.

“Ugh, finally he’s done talking. Can we take this moment to do as much planning as humanly possible?”

“About 70% of the people in this room aren’t human, but sure.”

There were a couple of snorts and they got to work.

Just imagining his conversation with Loki from an outsider’s view was exhausting.

Welp, that was for another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... huh. Looking back it's kind of confusing. That's what I get for writing this like four months ago. I'm happy to answer any questions. 
> 
> Anyway.... yeah. Three more chapters to go. Thanks for reading. I hope you all have a good day!


	86. The Fight is on!

Loki was walking through town. There were quite a lot of strange creatures here… something called a Whismer and a Molsmal? Hmm. There seemed to be a lot of variety within the populous- that could prove useful in conquering this silly planet. If people kept refusing to kneel that could become problematic.

He ducked into an alley to concentrate on his tie with the boy. Nothing interesting he could pick up…. Hmm. They were rather boring so far. Not to mention that the child was more annoying than his brother, and that took some effort.

Hmm. He should decide on where to attack for now. Maybe on Fourth Street? It did have a large amount of people, so he might want to wait for a lull in the foot traffic unless he wanted to expend the effort needed to control them first. This needed pondering.

So he parked himself on a bench and waited, glaring at anyone who came too close.

“wanna ‘dog?” He turned around at the voice of a hotdog seller that had appeared about ten feet away. He swore he hadn’t been there three minutes ago.

“No thank you.” The skeleton shrugged and went back to a book. Hmm… this could be a possible informant. He stood up and walked over.

“changed your mind? what can I get you mr. odinson?” He froze at the knowing look in the skeleton’s eyes.

“Now how in the nine realms did you know that?”

“i wasn’t sure until you confirmed it. still want a ‘dog? we have a couple new kinds-“

“No foolish mortal, I want information. Now.” He made the scepter appear as a walking stick. The skeleton didn’t look impressed.

“on what subjects?”

“This world. What are its main attributes?” This man clearly knew a lot, so he wouldn’t be a bad source of information.

“oh, this little place? not much other than being the main home of monsters. but you could have just gotten that from a tour guide. what do ya really want to know?”

“More on the monster subject. What are monsters?”

“ya really should just listen in on a tour group. we were trapped underground for about a thousand years and came up here last summer. most of them wouldn’t hurt a fly- it’s not in our nature as a species.”

Oh. This would be a poor choice of an army. But they might be able to be persuaded…

“Not a fly? Really? Even if they were facing life or death?”

“not the majority. oh, hold up- i see a friend of mine you might get more information out of. hey blue!” A man in a blue jacket looked over and walked towards them. How fitting.

“Need me for something?”

“yup. we have a new person in town here- hasn’t met many monsters and wants to know a bit about them. you know quite a lot, don’tcha blue?”

“Yessiree! What would you like to know?” He considered his questions. He’d probably only get to ask a couple so he wouldn’t be remembered easily.

“Do monsters have any abilities in general?”

“aw, ya could have asked me that! real basic magic really.” 

“Oh really? Interesting- what kinds are there?” Keep it in the flow of the conversation and they won’t remember the details as easily.

“Oh, lots. There’s moving things- kinda like telekinesis. Most can make little pellets, but they don’t do all that much. It’s all about intent, but most can’t do more than knock off a few HP.”

“HP?”

“Oh, like in a video game- Health Points. How much health you have before you get too injured to continue. Some can teleport, but only a few feet at the most. Not much unfortunately. Some can manipulate their bullets to do interesting things- fly faster, make it so they only hurt if you’re standing still- that sort of thing. It gets pretty complicated, and I’ve been living with monsters ever since they’ve come up here! What’s your name again? I’m Blue, but you probably got that.” Wow, this guy talked a mile a minute.

“Tom. Tom Holland. I just got here on a business trip but was completely unprepared. Thank you for your help.” He probably should leave while he still could.

“Of course! Anytime- it was nice to meet ya. One elephant’dog, eh Sans?”

The skeleton- Sans- chuckled and grabbed a hotdog with what looked like an elephant face. Interesting business idea. He nodded politely and walked over towards the residential areas. He needed to try to find that NMC group while he still could- they probably meet in a house. He’d just have to scope out for a few hours and- oh who was he kidding- he’d never find them. He might as well stick around here and wait for the foot traffic to slow so he could attack before they expected him to.

This might be a long wait.

 

\-----------

 

Orange and Purple looked over from where they were having coffee.

“Should we convene by the stand?”

“Might as well. I’m in the mood for a ‘dog.”

“You’re always hungry Orange.”

“Aww, thanks.”

They got up and walked over, Purple putting her hand through his arm. “Hello gentlemen.”

“heya. want a ‘dog?”

“Sure. Cat’dog please Sans. Extra relish.”

“gotcha. want one violet?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“You two on a date?” Blue said with a smirk.

“No.”

“Aw come on Purple!”

“It would be problematic to our job, you know that Orange. As endearing as you are, I’m not interested in a relationship with you.”

“Fine. Anyone catch your fancy?”

“No.” And that was all they were going to get out of her. “See anyone new in town? We’re getting a lot of tourists.”

“yep. met a guy- here on business.” Loki had been sighted. They’d better contact the others to come over soon before things got too crazy. Maybe ask Undyne or Green to set up some shields or ask Cyan to teleport some people out.

“Hmm. Nice to see you helping people instead of lazing around as usual.”

“Hey, I helped too!”

“Sure you did Blue. Now stop shipping me with people- I had to bring out the pepper spray last time.”

“Oh, really? Why?”

“Oh, we are not getting into this now. Just stop setting me up with people dammit! I’m not interested.”

“You’re no fun. I have another person to-“

“No Blue. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to take a business call. Your last date made me miss my meeting because of the police.”

She walked a few feet away and pulled out her phone, dialing Deceit. He certainly had some connections- not bad for a kid. “Hey Boss.”

[You know I told you not to call me that.]

“You told me to call you- strictly business.”

[A cover then- got it. Find him?]

“Yep. I need a couple more on the project. Maybe have another office meeting.”

[Cool. I’ll have them come over by the shortcut by the fountain- and a couple teleporters to take care of the rest. How soon?]

“I’m free for a call in a couple hours. My client is scoping out a meeting point- we’ll have lunch then get to work. Probably around two-thirty.”

[So he’s waiting for less people…? Good. That will be less people to teleport, and more can hide. Did Sans see anything?]

“Yep- right here. Got some background information on the project- approached it head on.”

[Hmm. He deviated from the plan slightly, but I guess we can work with it. I can send another person to scope out if you guys want to return here.]

“Sounds good. Bye.”

She hung up and returned to the cart, where Blue was trying to stack ‘dogs on his head.

“Blue, really? Fine, fine. I’m going home to change before my meeting. Anyone going in that direction?”

Orange stood up from his place on a nearby bench. “Yep. Gotta go upload some files. See you guys around.”

As they left they saw Remy round the corner with a large yellow lab on a leash, followed by Jameson wearing a grey beanie and Virgil on his phone. Huh. She didn’t know they had a dog. Strange.

They walked over to the Sanders.

“I didn’t know you had a dog.”

“We don’t. Anti and Dark do. She can look like a normal dog if she tries hard enough.”

Logan nodded as he typed on the computer frantically. “She’s rather interesting.”

“She’s adorable! You using the camera on her leash?”

“Yep. Nothing so far… no wait- I see someone who looks like him siting by a fountain. Yep- that’s him. Looks exactly like he does in the movies. I’ll tell them to loop around the square a few times and for Sans to keep an eye on him.”

“Cool. Anyone want some coffee?”

“Sure.”

They all sat down to wait.

 

\---------

 

Remy, Virgil, and Darky stopped by Muffet’s for a snack.

“Really Remy? You have to go to Muffet’s?”

“Their muffins are amazing okay?! And I kinda developed a drink that I want to try and-“

“Relax. I’m teasing you. Hey Darky, want to go to Muffet’s?”

Darky barked and wagged her tail. Jameson nodded. _*That would be a yes. Do they have dog treats?*_

“No, but I’m sure I can find something that they give to the dogs when they come in.”

_*That will work.*_

“Cool!”

The bell rang as they went into the store. “Hey Muffet!”

“How’s my favourite human worker?~ Oh, is this your dog?”

“I’m your only human worker and no, she’s a friend’s that we’re walking. I was going to come in for a drink and a muffin, and Jameson was wondering whether you had any dog treats at the same time!”

“Of course deary.~ One muffin, one Spider Soda, and one dogbone! Would you like anything Jameson? Virgil?”

Virgil silently handed over some money for a donut and Jameson just shook his head with a smile.

“Okay then! Remy, do you want to-“

“Show off my mixing skills? Duh!” He ran around the counter, grabbing an apron off of a hook and doing a couple of other things before settling comfortable behind the counter. He grabbed a dogbone from under the counter and threw it over, to which Darky caught it easily and settled down on the floor to enjoy it.

Remy mixed his drink, grabbed a donut for Virgil and grabbed a muffin, before easily jumping out over the counter and bowing. “Viola!”

“Nice job deary- just stop jumping out over the counter.” Muffet winked and handed them their items and receipt.

“Okay Muffet. Come on guys- let’s go on a walk!” They waved at Muffet before leaving, with Darky pulling on the leash.

They walked around the block a few times, keeping an eye on Loki, who was just sitting and watching.

“How does he not get bored?”

“Probably thinking or meditating. It’s nice ya know Rem.”

_*We probably should check with Deceit to see if he has been bothered by him in a while. If he has been listening all of our work has been for naught.*_

They looked at each other then at the dog, who was pulling them over to a little alley.

“Darky, what are you-“ Remy was confused.

A small white cat came out and meowed at her. Jameson raised his brows. _*That there’s a demon cat... It’s- Marvin’s? Ace?*_ The cat looked over at him and meowed before moving closer to Darky. JJ looked stunned.

“You okay JJ?”

_*Yep- just… stunned that’s all. I wonder if Marvin knows.*_

“Hmm. I honestly don’t know. Welp, do you want to head home, or-“

Virgil stopped as his ears caught onto something. “He’s moving. Go, now!” Sure enough, Loki had gotten off of the bench and was surveying the area. There was almost nobody in sight. Perfect.

“Call Dee now!” Virgil summoned his wings and unleashed Darky, whose aura returned and she grew to the size of a person, barreling across the street to Sans, who was hiding in a doorway. Remy was shocked for a second before banging his fists together and forming dust in his cupped hands.

The fight was on.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehe~   
> Sorry about the cliffhanger! I swear the next one will make up for it. I think it's...... 16 pages? Maybe? Either way, it's the Finale. The second-to-last chapter.   
> This has been one hell of a ride.


	87. Finale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The final showdown. 15-ish pages. 
> 
> Good luck.

It was chaos. She was huddled on fourth street- between Grillby’s and Muffet’s approximately. There were too many people here to count: Some of the Egos armed with random weapons- was that a super-soaker in one of their hands? She had to stay away from that. Was that Iron Man and Doctor Strange? They had come out of a portal along with the SOULS and about ten or twenty other people, including the NMC and the Sanders.

She remained close to the doorways- maybe she could get out of the sudden crowd and towards safety? If this was an issue that didn’t involve her…

A clone of a man in green and gold armor appeared in front of her and tried to stab her-

She screamed in a hiss of hot air as water doused her right arm and splattered on part of her face, along with dissolving the clone. She ran for cover of the water behind the nearest surface, hugging her arm to her chest. This was bad…

So she was hiding behind a car, arm completely soaked and huddled to her chest. Well wasn’t this fantastic? The one day she didn’t wear a massive hoodie too!

Joan took cover behind her table as they dodged a stray attack. Their eyes widened. “You got soaked?” She nodded, still holding the black husk of an arm. They handed her a candy bar. “It’s all I have, but it might save the arm. Grillby might have a lighter somewhere in his bar if you want to try to get over there to try to re-light it.”

“Thanks.” She figured the bar could be used for someone else, but she was going to take it if it could save her arm from turning to dust. These sorts of things didn’t usually pan out easily. But hey, HOPE right? Joan was going to duck out with one of Roman’s swords and their shield when she stopped them. “Hold up-“ She lit her good hand on fire and touched the blade, causing it to erupt in flames. “Might help. Not much, but-“ She didn’t exactly want Quinn to get hurt either…

“Thanks. Now save your strength to be able to hide in Grillby’s. It’s only about half a block that way.” They pointed up the street and to the right.

“Good luck.”

They smirked, although you could see that they didn’t quite mean it. “I don’t need luck. I have DETERMINATION, right?”

And without another word they left to rejoin the fray. Welp, she probably should get to Grillby’s while she still had the chance.

 

\--------

 

Dee was annoyed he couldn’t do _more_. He and Anti just kept cutting through the clones to try to get to Loki but it was fruitless. Eventually Anti let out a piercing scream and seemed to dissolve into a jagged streak of green lightning, his fingers elongated and red, swarming away and cutting into their midst. Dee just kept swinging his replica sword, hoping that he ran into someone.

_“I see your friends have left you alone.”_

“Shut up Loki.” He saw the man’s reflection in a store window as he whirled around to try to get rid of the masses.

“ _Oh, little puppeteer, I’m afraid you would never suit my purposes. If you would I would keep you alive and your mind intact.”_ He dodged a spear and stabbed into the clone. He heard a grunt and he saw someone fall to the ground. He heard nothing as it hit the floor, and his instincts told him to let it be- but it was Remy-

“Shut up Loki! I’m tired of your petty games!” All of the illusions nearest to him were torn into shreds- including the body on the floor and the blood.

_“Oh, I wouldn’t call them petty, would you Deceit?”_

“That’s not my name.”

_“No, but it’s your title. And I respect you enough to use your title, now don’t I?”_

“You would never respect me. What, were you fooling around in your universe? Stark almost recommended I talk to you about something, you really have them wrapped around your finger, don’t you?”

_“Oh, yes. The scales. I must say, your mind is a very twisted place my dear Prince of Lies.”_

“Answer my question! You can’t read my mind and I know that!”

“ _Well of course. Those idiots must follow somebody, now musn’t they?”_ He dodged a gunshot from a man in a pink afro that slammed into a nearby window and then ripped into more clones.

|WILFORD MOTHERLOVIN’ WARFSTACHE I SWEAR IF YOU ALMOST SHOOT SOMEONE AGAIN-|

“Aw, gee, so sorry!” So the one in the wig was Wilford. Huh.

_“That is quite a fashion statement.”_

“Loki, get the fuck out of my head before I get you out of it myself!”

_“Aww, the little puppetmaster thinks himself strong enough to take over an Asgardian. How cute. Sorry peasant, but you’re no match for-“_

“SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!” Well now that he looked like he was crazy he might as well get some good out of it. He trudged into an alley to get some peace and quiet to talk with his… guest.

Loki almost seemed surprised _. “Well don’t you have quite the set of manners.”_

“Listen here Rudolph- I’ve been through too much shit to get all hung up on what the crown prince wants. Now either get out of my head or I’m going to go find you, string you up like Christmas lights, and make you forget how to feel feelings!”

_“Well that almost sounds like something that benefits me.~”_

“Don’t even start on your emo shit. Yeah, I get it. You’re adopted, and you just found out and decided to take over the world. Big whoop. Join the club of people who have messed-up lives full of people lying to them- take a number. Now either shut up and get out of my head or get a reality check and stop bothering me.”

There was a stunned silence _. “You know, I’ve never done this with one of my playthings before. It certainly makes things… interesting.”_

Dee rubbed his temples. “Does it look like I care? What kind of stupid thing do you want? I’ll find a way to get it to you so you can stop moping and get rid of your clones. They’re barely even effective, and not manipulative in the least.”

_“Well it certainly seems like you’re an expert in manipulation.”_

“Ugh, this again. Just knock it off so I can get you back to your little fights in your universe. You may have an infinity stone, but we have a Sans.”

_“Ah, yes, the skeleton. Not quite a Hulk, is he? Only has so much health- shame.”_

“Yeah, well, you’d be surprised at just how DETERMINED he is. We also have an Undyne, a Roman, about fifteen people with the same face-“

A large war-bark broke off his words and Darky barreled down the street, causing clones to disappear at every shuddering footstep.

“-so you have no reason to tell me to do or not to do something, you hear me?”

There was silence. He sighed and readied his blade-

And all of the clones disappeared in one fell swoop of magic, leaving Loki unable to be found. Sans stood in the middle of the courtyard, about five feet away from Marvin, Iron Man hovered ahead, Virgil was stunned into silence about ten feet away from them, and various other monsters- Toriel, Undyne- Mettaton and Papyrus- were still standing in battle stances with weapons raised. Chara raised up from a crouch next to Red, both holding red knives in their hands. There was an eerie silence.

One single illusion appeared in the middle of the courtyard as Dee walked out hesitantly.

 _“I suppose you’re so proud of yourselves.”_ The voice rang inside his head and out, causing the various people around to look over in unison. A spear flew right through the illusion, and Undyne cursed.

_“You think you’ve won and saved the day. You think-“_

“we think nothing pal. so, buddy, friendo, chum-o-mine, **do ya wanna have a bad time**?”

The illusion simply stood there before nodding and fading away. There was a large amount of noise on the other side of the street, and Chase readied his Super Soaker.

Loki just walked in, armor glittering and scepter gleaming a harsh blue. As he approached he saw monster after human stiffen then slacken, their eyes turning blue- Sans, Undyne, SOUL after SOUL, Ego after Ego, NMC Member after NMC Member, Patton, Logan, Roman, Thomas, Virgil and Remy, turn around and walk away out of the square….

Until there were only a few of them left. Dark and Anti were standing hear each other, weapons in hands. Darky teleported over with a whine. Wilford in that awful wig was holding a gun, Marvin’s cat hissing next to him. Gaster was standing on a bench with yellow, purple, green, orange, red, and blue hands floating near him along with series of bones. Frisk was standing near him holding Flowey. Host, Bing and Google popped up from behind a car holding welding equipment while Host was silent for once and wore sunglasses over his bandaged eyes. A man that looked like Jameson in colour stood near Deceit, a large pumpkin-themed battle-axe in his hands. Dee slipped the mask off of his head to peer at Loki in curiosity, the glass replica of one of Roman’s swords melting away from his hands.

The whole street was silent. A can skittered across the street and Wilford shot it into pieces while still not taking his gaze from the god before him.

“Kneel.” There was silence. Loki rolled his eyes and gestured again, a bright blue pulse emanating from his scepter. “Kneel!” His voice echoed across the street and yet everyone was still.

Wilford stepped forwards, his outfit melting into his usual pink suspenders and bowtie paired with the pink afro wig. He pointed his gun at the man with no mercy in his eyes. “I’m not kneeling to any show-off god-complexed moron with a glowstick.”

There was a small sigh. “You might even be crazier than I am. Shame really.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no….” Wilford walked around a couple of steps, holding the gun lazily in one hand. “Don’t you EVER tell anyone that they are crazy- because if you do…” He stared deep into Loki’s eyes as he cocked the hammer of the gun back. “You’ll be facing me from even beyond the grave- and death is supposed to be fun, now isn’t it?”

There was a tense silence.

“Excuse me Mr. Loki.” Frisk set down Flowey and crept forwards. “I have one question. Why are you doing any of this? Can’t we just-“

There was a flash of blue light…..

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence.

“Excuse me?” Frisk set down an angry Flowey and crept forwards. “Mr. Loki- I don’t see why-“

There was a flash of blue light…..

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence.

“Excuse me?” Frisk set down a stunned Flowey and crept forwards. “Loki, sir, whatever you would like me to call you, I have one question-“

There was a flash of blue light…….

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence.

“Why?!” Frisk cried, dropping the pot, forcing a surprised Flowey to catch himself before the pot smashed. “Why are you doing this?! What did we do to you?!”

There was a flash of blue light……

 

* * *

 

 

Grillby’s was full of people. She was the only fire elemental other than Grillby, who immediately ran over with a lighter and a rag when he saw her arm. He got to work scrubbing off the excess water until faint flecks of dust came from the arm. He flicked his lighter. The arm didn’t light.

He narrowed his brows, trying again as the arm continued to flake. Nothing. It was no use. He tried until someone pried the rag and lighter from his fingers. Alphys.

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay Grillby. Hey, at least it’s not my dominant arm, right?” She tried for a smile.

“I-I might be able to m-make you a new arm.”

“It’s fine Alphys. Let’s get to it when we get to it.”

She just sat on a barstool and watched the arm flake away. She hoped everyone else was alright…

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence.

Frisk sighed. “Why are you doing this?” They sat down a dazed Flowey and stepped forwards, holding their hands up. “Is there any real gain to it? Can’t we just-“

There was a flash of blue light…..

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence interspersed with soft sniffles by Flowey. Frisk pet the flower’s petals as they set him down and walked forwards a step.

“Mr Loki, if I may ask a question. Why? Is there any real gain? Is there any other solutions we can use? Please, I want to he-“

There was a flash of blue light.....

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence.

Frisk took a shaky breath and hugged the flowerpot tight before setting him gently onto the bench.

“Mr Loki. I want to help you. You might not want help but let me help you.”

“Frisk…” Flowey tried to intercede.

“Shhh….. They reached back and rubbed one of his petals between their fingers. “Let me do this.” The flower turned away.

“I want to help you. If there’s anything I can do-“

“SILENCE!”

There was a flash of blue light……

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence.

Frisk stood on the bench passively, stepping down and putting the flower where they had been standing.

They walked closer, arms outstretched and eyes hopeful. “Mr Loki, I want to help-“

There was a flash of blue light…..

 

* * *

 

 

Picani was holed up in his office as calls started to come in about the riot in the city. He tried to remain calm for the sake of his patient.

“Well then Elliot. I guess we have more time to chat. I’m sure everything will be alright soon.”

He wasn’t completely sure. He bit the end of his carrot pen in worry, only stopping once Elliot asked if he was alright.

“Huh? Oh, yeah- yeah, I’m fine. I just live close to the city and my kids are home because of the holiday. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

He still wasn’t completely sure. A hand rested on his foot and he looked up to the supportive patient with a smile.

“The tables certainly have turned, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

He smiled again and looked down at his notepad. “And how does that make you feel?” He joked.

“Nice to finally be there for someone I guess.”

He smiled larger. “Great. You’re doing great.”

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence.

Frisk set down Flowey and marched forwards, venom in their eyes. “Listen here! I don’t know much about you, but you need help! I want to give it to you! So either strike me down here and now or give me a chance to help you dammit!”

Loki just stood there in shock. His face paled and he raised his scepter.

There was a flash of blue light.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

There was a tense silence. Nobody said anything. Flowey let out a strangled gasp but was silent. Frisk just shuffled in place.

Loki smiled. “Good. I see you’ve all seen complacency.”

Dee felt like he was going to scream. All his plans had failed. Nobody could help, and those who could didn’t dare to try. Maybe he should just give in….

So he knelt, his hands falling to his knees and tears brimming in his eyes. No- emotions were weak you idiot….

He felt a hand upon his head. Loki forced his head up. “So you’ve finally given in. After all this time.” He let go and it snapped down so he looked back at the pavement.

He hadn’t had a choice. No- that was wrong. He always had a choice- there were very few situations where he was choiceless. He was DETERMINED to find a way out of this.

So he felt out with his magic. The response he got almost sent him reeling. Frisk had a hand on a button, everything washed with a red light.

**~~ *PRESS ~~ **

There was a flash of bright red light the color of blood…

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence. Nobody stirred. Dee’s brain felt overcrowded. Had that just happened? He felt out again with his magic. Nothing nearly as strong as before… but red wisps of light clung to his clothing, and Frisk was basically made of them, Flowey having slightly less.

“I see you’ve all seen complacency.” Was he really going to see everything again? What if he didn’t give in?

“If I was a better person I would say that I’m sorry, but you see that wouldn’t really be true.” He pointed his scepter at Dee. “So, as the leader of your pretty little rebellion, do you have any last words?”

Dee smiled. “Nah.” His world was blasted away in blue.

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence. Well he couldn’t just do nothing. There was an unlikely chance that anyone else but Frisk would- or could- do anything. He really didn’t want to surrender again, that was… weird.

He felt like he was in a corner. Maybe Flowey could help? He seemed to remember the repeats, maybe he could give him a message?

“I see you’ve all seen complacency.” He should think of something quick before he tried to kill him again. Maybe…

“If I was a better person I would say that I’m sorry, but you see that wouldn’t really be true.” He pointed his scepter at Dee. “So, as the leader of your pretty little rebellion, do you have any last words?”

Dee grinned. “Hey Flowerface, maybe jump into the action next time eh?” He was blasted into blue with only the hope that he got the message.

 

* * *

 

 

There was a tense silence before vines snaked out of the ground and wrapped around the god, cracking the pavement.

Flowey laughed his signature maniacal giggle as he lifted the man from the ground and squeezed. “WELL DON’T YOU REGRET YOUR DECISIONS NOW, EH GOAT HORNS?!”

Loki didn’t move, his limbs hopelessly trapped in the python-like grip. He only managed to spit out a few words.

“This is nothing.”

Flowey’s face showed surprise then anger. He squeezed harder and Dee could hear the cracking of bones.

“Flowey stop!” Frisk held out their hand and Flowey’s face grew impassive before dropping the god onto the street. He scowled.

“Why would you have anything to say about it? You know what he did!”

“Everyone deserves a second chance Flowey!”

“He’s gotten five hundred! Stop caring already!” Frisk’s face fell. Flowey almost looked like he was about to take it back but wasn’t sure how.

“I care because someone has to Flowey!”

“Fine! Care until you get killed!” He retreated into a nearby alley. Wilford pointed his gun at the god, who was lying on the ground groaning slightly.

“So, Mr. Goat Horns, ya wanna tell me why?”

Loki somehow managed to prop himself on his elbow, one of his legs snapping back into place and the bruises fading as he slowly healed.

“I am a god you insufferable creature. And you- yes you- will answer to me.”

“Not in this lifetime. Take it away boys!” He walked back a few steps as Dark and Anti glitched over, smiles on their faces. Anti smiled just a bit too wide.

“̷G̸l̴a̴d̷l̶y̸.̸”̸ ̵

Dark simply sneered, a cane appearing in his hands.

“You’re going to wish you were never born! All of you- you’re going to wish you had died tonight!”

Dee stepped forward. “If I may speak for everyone here- I don’t think that will ever be true. See ya around Reindeer games.”

Loki spat and disappeared into golden glitter just as the cane and knife were about to hit him. They both clattered to the ground.

|Well damn. Would you look at that.|

“̷Y̷e̶s̶-̷ ̸d̴o̶ ̷y̸o̷u̷ ̴t̵h̴i̸n̴k̶ ̸h̷e̴ ̷k̸n̵o̶w̵s̷ ̸w̶h̴a̷t̶ ̶h̵e̵’̶s̶ ̶d̵o̷n̴e̵,̴ ̷a̴n̷g̶e̸r̶i̶n̷g̸ ̸a̷ ̵g̶r̵o̵u̸p̶ ̵o̷f̸ ̷d̵e̸m̸o̷n̵s̶?̵”̸

|Oh, I doubt that. Darky?|

She bounded over, sniffing the golden glitter on the floor. **Yes?** Anti and Dark grinned in unison, smiles sharper than Anti’s blade.

“|Fet̷c̸h.|”

She bounded up and disappeared into shadows. They waited.

“Say, does anyone know where those other scalawags have gone to? If he’s still controlling them who knows what will happen!” Wilford spun on his heel as he said it, punctuating with his gun.

Google stood and walked over, avoiding the gun. “According to my calculations, 27 individuals were affected. There are sightings from nearby security cameras of fifteen of them wandering about aimlessly, and the remainder planning a-“

“Where is he?!” Undyne stormed in, spears blazing.

“Ah. There they are.”

Sans teleported in, eyelights dark. “ **buddy** \- wait, where-“ He looked around. “did he get away?!”

|Yes. We currently have-|

“how the hell could you let him get away?! frisk-“

“Sans. No. This is just going to happen.”

“no- we can win this- we have to win this- i’m not letting him get in my head again!”

“We couldn’t have done anything to change it- things had to go as they did. Believe me Sans, I wish they hadn’t but-“

“frisk-“

“Okay I’ll do it! Just stop fighting!”

There was a flash…..

_________-___--__-

“ _No_.” Dee felt the stare of eyes on him as he wrapped the button in yellow strings only he and Frisk could see.

**~~ *Manual Override ~~ **

“Wha- how?!”

“listen here buddy-“

He felt his prior DETERMINATION fade, as did the strings, freeing Frisk’s hand. “No. It’s not the right course of action. Don’t force them to give you a happy ending.”

“You know how that will end Sans.” Gaster stood tall, hands glowing softly around him.

Sans snarled and turned away, disappearing in a flash of blue.

There was a beat of silence.

|Well that was fascinating… say, do I hear-|

A massive Darky appeared with a struggling Loki in her mouth.

“Let go of me you dull creature!”

|Oh, I wouldn’t call her dull. She’s rather smart actually.|

“̵Y̶o̵u̴ ̵h̷o̸w̶e̴v̵e̸r̸…̶”̸ ̴  Anti conjured another knife and toyed with it.

|Anti, no.|

“Darky!”

|Call me that again and I’ll shove that knife down your throat. I know you weren’t referring to the dog.|

“H̶e̶h̸e̵h̶e̷h̸e̷~̶” He turned back towards the god, and Darky dropped Loki onto the floor. “̸H̸e̷y̸ ̷D̸a̵r̴k̴y̶,̸ ̵y̸a̴ ̶h̸u̷n̴g̵r̸y̴?̶”̷

 **You want me to eat him? That’s not keeping on my diet. Loud Human will be mad.** Wilford chuckled.

“As far as I’m concerned Darky, Loud Human can go to hell. Bon-“

“Wait, wait!” Loki tried to stand up, and Darky immediately grabbed onto the back of his jacket with her teeth to keep him from escaping. “I- To be honest for once I’d rather not die like that. Nasty way to do it you see.” Dee could see he was bluffing. Why had a man who had killed multiple times without a thought fear death?

“Oh, you fear death? That’s nothing to worry about! Between you and me pal-“ Wilford came closer, Loki immediately inhaled deeply on the scent of sugar- a common reaction, and one not completely controllable. He strained his ears to listen. “-death isn’t something to be afraid of. It’s something to celebrate.”

With that thought he turned away, the pink wig dancing on his head. After so long on it almost seemed to suit him. Not quite though. Not quite.

“But I’m sure you already know that, don’t you? 80 people in 2 days- rather impressive, wouldn’t you say?” He knew he was probably a little out of character from the others, but he didn’t really care. He flashed a smile, relishing the faint embers of fear he sensed in the corners of his senses.

“I certainly did choose a good puppet. Tell me, Mr. Medusa, how many people have you swindled and tricked?”

He pulled the number straight off the top of his head, saying it flatly. “238. Man, weren’t school days quite the time to be alive?” He kneeled, staring down into the man’s blue eyes. “But I’m sure you know the feeling very well, don’t you Mr. Odinson?”

He saw a flicker of anger, the blue eyes flickering and darkening ever so slightly until the shade of almost what seemed to be green was swallowed in blue.

|Deceit. We can handle this.| He felt himself turn, smiling. He loved this game of cat and mouse.

“Oh, I’m sure you do. If I may just offer a little assistance-~” He motioned for Darky to get up as he grabbed Loki’s arm, forcing a manual connection. He was almost overwhelmed by the response.

 

_He was surrounded by blue. Wisps and wisps of it formed a cloud around him, simulating what seemed to be neural pathways- a direct connection to the mind that already was connected to someone- something- else. Fascinating._

_He walked, searching for the connection he had to sever. Then he realized he was surrounded by it- it had infected everything. Well- everything but that._

_He stepped into a section of where the blue had not crossed- a place where the pathways were gold, with little floating globes that practically rang with memories and emotions. A man sat on a red loveseat, watching him with interest over a book._

_“Well hello. Fancy a mug?”_

_He was suddenly in a high-backed chair holding a mug of what looked like hot chocolate. Loki tilted his head, suddenly holding a wineglass filled with what looked like mead. He certainly had a flair for the dramatics._

_“You’re an unexpected surprise. Dee, was it?” He took a sip._

_“Uh- yeah. I take it that-“_

_“I’m being controlled by the Mind Stone? How perceptive of you. Would you like a participation award?” Ouch._

_“Uh- actually, I was going to try to release you. But if you don’t want me to-“_

_“I may be reckless but I’m not an idiot. Feel free to try.” He leaned back into his chair with his mead and Dee was standing back where he had been._

_He turned around, looking for a good place to start. He waited for a wisp to wrap itself around his hand and pulled sharply._

 

He jolted back into his body. He felt a burning pain in his palm.

“OW, FUCK!”

He instinctively launched the stone at the ground with excessive force. Ow… that had felt like every nerve was on fire… not to mention that his head was trying to patch itself up from almost splitting apart.

He looked at the shining stone on the ground and hesitantly picked it up, this time only feeling like his head was trying to burn him alive instead of tossing him into a vat of acid. He manifested a bag and put it into it, his hands only shaking slightly. He tried to shake off the rest of the pain, giving the others a faint smile.

“That- heh- that worked, huh?”

“You were making large quantities of noise for 2.34 seconds.” Thanks Google. Wilford nodded and played with his gun.

“Us folk here were starting to get a bit worried for ya.” Host adjusted his bandages.

“The host sensed quite a bit of worry emanating from his friends in response to Dee’s actions. Behind the current protagonist there was movement as Loki recovered…”

He turned around to see a faintly surprised Loki almost fall to the ground as he grabbed onto the fountain for balance.

“Oh, hello there. I’m just going to assume the worst-“ He started to edge away.

|Darky, fetch.| Dark amended his words as Celine whispered into his ear. |Gently.|

Darky shrunk to almost normal size and nudged the man over, offering her neck as support as he got used to his limbs, which happened rather quickly.

“The sensation of almost dying certainly doesn’t get old- I’m certainly glad I haven’t experienced that more.” Loki said stiffly, putting his hands behind his back as he stood tall. A couple of people muttered something.

“Jerk…” Bing muttered, apparently trying to whisper but failing just shy of a shout. Loki simply blinked.

“If you meant to say that to my face you’ve certainly succeeded.”

Frisk crept closer, putting something into their pocket- a tiny star? “Mr. Loki?” They seemed to have noticed the hostile reaction to the name Odinson. “Are you… okay? Not planning to kill us?”

“Currently? Fine, thank you for asking. I must say- even trapped at least some of you have hospitality. Better than most places I’ve been really.”

“What do you mean trapped?”

They heard the sound of running footsteps before Chase appeared, holding his now-empty super-soaker.

“Uh- Marvin’s kinda… collapsed.” Anti swore.

“̴G̸o̴d̸ ̸d̷a̷m̸m̶i̶t̴.̵”̶ ̶

Loki smiled pleasantly. “I don’t believe I will actually- it’s too much fun to make you suffer. Any good god would do the same.”

Anti just swore louder and followed Chase towards the magician.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the things in here I find really freaking funny. Wilford's part about not bowing to a god-complexed moron with a glow stick is probably my favourite. There's probably some plot holes. I've stopped caring at this point. It's been a wild ride. 
> 
> Anyway. Next time we wrap it up. It's been fun. I'll end up posting a sequel eventually. Thanks for reading and have a great day. Thanks for sticking 'round.


	88. In Our Bedroom After the War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from the song In Our Bedroom After the War by Stars. This is a short one guys. But this is the end. 
> 
> O̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶t̶o̶r̶y̶

Dee stood in his room, staring out the window at the tree line. The Egos had left. Stark and Strange had left with half-hearted promises to never return. Well, Strange promised. The other hero just kind of… stood there awkwardly. Chara had managed to calm Sans and Flowey down. Loki was trying to make amends and start anew, contrary to all expectations. He should probably go by and help him…

He heard the birds chirp through the nearby window. 

Borealis and Alphys were trying to design a cool prosthetic arm after hers had gotten soaked by Chase, who fortunately had no idea that had happened. Picani had come back last night worried but evidently relieved when he’d seen they were all safe and sound. The heroes had taken the stone for… something. Something about a giant purple prune. Who knows with those guys. 

Nobody died. Nobody got too injured. Undyne and Alphys were getting married. 

But why did he feel like something was missing? 

His phone chimed as something was uploaded. Ooh, a new video. Those guys never seemed to take a break, did they?

He settled down to watch it, a content smile on his face. 

Everything really seemed to be all wrapped up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. This is it. The final chapter. The end of the story.   
> Seriously though, it'll be a few months before I even start thinking about posting the sequel, because it's being very difficult to write, so if you wan to I suggest to subscribe tot he series so you'll get an email when I start posting. 
> 
> It's been a fun ride guys. This fic has grown and changed a lot.   
> So, as always, thanks you for reading and have a great day.


End file.
